JUSTIN GAETHJE KNOCKS OUT DUSTIN POIRIER WITH A HEAD KICK FROM HELL TO BECOME THE NEW BMF CHAMPION
OH. MY. GOD.
What is it with Salt Lake City and head kicks?!?! Talk about a PPV (and a main event) living up to the hype!
Justin Gaethje just earned some redemption against Dustin Poirier - over five long years after getting finished by "The Diamond" in their first fight - and he did it with an exclamation point!
In the first, I thought Gaethje fought a great, technical round. He got clipped once (which seemed to bother his eyesight more than anything), but otherwise, landed some heavy signature leg kicks against Poirier, and got him to acknowledge his shots more than once. Then, in the second, Gaethje made a few adjustments, and set up/threw that head kick from hell to put Poirier "into the stratosphere" (as Jon Anik said) to become the NEW BMF Champion.
Gaethje then told Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview that he never even drilled that kick in camp, but just saw the opening and thought it felt right in the moment - much like Derrick Lewis' flying knee earlier in the night....
Honestly, I can't think of anyone in the UFC with a style that lends itself more to that 'BMF' title than Gaethje, so although I was rooting for Poirier, I feel like this was almost meant to be. It's perfect.
Afterwards, they showed a side-by-side of this head kick and Leon Edwards’ head kick KO over Kamaru Usman from the last time the UFC was in Utah, and besides them being thrown on opposite sides - they were virtually identical. Kinda crazy.
Overall, I thought UFC 291 was absolutely incredible. It's probably gotta be the card of the year, and it'll be hard to top, so make sure you thank the MMA Gods before you go to sleep tonight. This was something special.
P.S. You just had to know McGregor was going to chime in….