Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje to Rematch for Vacant BMF Title at UFC 291

Dustin
Poirier and Justin
Gaethje are going to run it back with some special hardware at
stake.

Poirier and Gaethje will have their rematch in the UFC 291
headliner at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 29,
the promotion announced Tuesday. Poirier defeated Gaethje via
fourth-round TKO in their first meeting at UFC on Fox 29 on April
14, 2018. This time, the vacant BMF title will be on the line. The
belt was initially awarded to Jorge
Masvidal for his victory against Nate Diaz at
UFC 244 in November 2019 and has not been defended since then.

Poirier will return to action for the first time since UFC 281,
where he submitted Michael
Chandler in the third-round of their featured lightweight
clash, a bout that was one of the best fights of 2022. The American
Top Team standout has been victorious in four of his last five
Octagon appearances.

A former World Series of Fighting champion, Gaethje was successful
in his first venture of 2023, as he earned a majority decision over
surging contender Rafael
Fiziev at UFC 286 on March 18. Gaethje’s UFC resume includes
wins over the likes of Chandler, Tony
Ferguson, Donald
Cerrone, Edson
Barboza and Michael
Johnson.

UFC 291 will feature a slew of other high-profile bouts. In the
co-main event, former middleweight champ Alex
Pereira will move to 205 pounds to face Jan
Blachowicz, while Tony
Ferguson will lock horns with Bobby Green
in a clash of lightweight veterans.

Other bouts confirmed for UFC 291 include: Michael
Chiesa vs. Kevin
Holland at welterweight; Paulo Costa
vs. Ikram
Aliskerov at middleweight; Stephen
Thompson vs. Michael
Pereira at welterweight and Derrick
Lewis vs. Marcos
Rogerio de Lima at heavyweight.

Dustin Poirier vs Justin Gaethje Michael Chiesa vs Kevin Holland
Tony Ferguson vs Bobby Green Paulo Costa vs Ikram Aliskerov Jan
Blachowicz vs Alex Pereira Jan Blachowicz vs Alex Pereira Derrick
Lewis vs Marcos Rogerio de Lima Stephen Thompson vs Michel Pereira