Heading back to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah this weekend, the UFC held its latest UFC 291 pay-per-view, headlined by the rematch between Lightweights Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier. The two entered the Octagon with the symbolic “BMF” (Baddest Motherfucker) title on the line, following original holder Jorge Masvidal vacating the title with his retirement back in April.
The two fighters last fought in April 2018 at UFC on Fox, with Poirer besting his opponent by way of a fourth-round TKO. At UFC 291, the two put on a competitive Round 1 with a cut above the eye causing issues for Gaethje that still was able to deliver offence despite the mounting pressure from Poirier. At the top of the second round, a noticeably calm Gaethje landed a right head kick that went through Poirier’s guard, ending the fight with an impressive knockout.
The co-main event was an interesting fight that saw Alex Pereira move up to Light Heavyweight to fight former champion Jan Błachowicz. Answering questions regarding his ability to fight at 185 pounds, Pereira earned a Split Decision victory (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) in a three-round fight.
Elsewhere in the card, Derrick Lewis shocked Marcos Rogério de Lima with a TKO (flying knee and punches) victory in just 33 seconds, and Bobby Green defeated Tony Ferguson with an arm-triangle choke in the 3rd Round. It is interesting to note, the Welterweight fight between Stephen Thompson and Michel Pereira was scrapped after Pereira weight in at 174 pounds, three pounds over the division limit. Paulo Costa and Ikram Aliskerov’s Middleweight bout was also scrapped for unknown reasons.
In case you missed it, leaked video of the Sony PlayStation 5 Project Q handheld surfaces.
