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.

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