Gaethje brutally KOs Poirier to win BMF title in UFC 291 rematch

Five years after their first fight, Justin Gaethje didn't just get revenge against Dustin Poirier - he did so with a Knockout of the Year candidate.

In a highly anticipated rematch between top lightweight contenders, Gaethje flattened Poirier with a head kick at the 1:00 mark of the second round in the UFC 291 main event Saturday night in Salt Lake City.

With the victory, Gaethje claimed the BMF title left vacant by Jorge Masvidal when he retired earlier in 2023. Masvidal, who used to train with Poirier, was in attendance and placed the belt around Gaethje's shoulder after the fight.

"Unlike any other sport on the earth, you rarely get a chance at redemption," Gaethje said in his postfight interview. "We take a loss and we just have to go home and sit with it. ... The comeback proved myself. I believed in myself the whole time."

To set up the finish, Gaethje threw out his right hand, hiding the right head kick that came immediately after. The kick landed just about flush - Poirier got his arm up to partially block it, but he still crumpled to the mat. Gaethje got in one punch on the ground before referee Herb Dean urgently called off the fight.

The UFC commentators noted afterward that the finish was oddly reminiscent of now-welterweight champion Leon Edwards' head-kick finish of Kamaru Usman last August, which took place in the same building - Delta Center - in Salt Lake City.

Gaethje said he has never practiced the high kick that ended the fight.

"It's so crazy," Gaethje said. "I surprised the shit out of myself, let me tell you. I threw that once against (Rafael) Fiziev (at UFC 286 in March) and I was like, 'Oh, that was nice.'"

The first round between Gaethje and Poirier was competitive and exciting. Gaethje landed hard leg kicks, while Poirier scored with his fists. Both men traded shots as the round ended.

In many ways, the rematch between Gaethje and Poirier had seemed inevitable ever since their first meeting, an instant classic in which Poirier won by fourth-round TKO in the main event of a UFC on Fox event. The two fighters have remained at the top of the division, both challenging for the undisputed lightweight title - but ultimately coming up short - multiple times since that fight.

Gaethje said he wants to challenge the winner of Islam Makhachev versus Charles Oliveira 2 - which headlines UFC 294 in October - for the undisputed lightweight title. Gaethje lost to Oliveira in 2022 but has never fought Makhachev.

"I'm going to prove I'm the best in the world," Gaethje said. "Win, lose, or draw, max effort is what you're going to get out of me."

"The Highlight" has many finishes under his belt and is one of the most entertaining fighters in MMA history - hence his nickname - but perhaps none bigger than Saturday's win. Gaethje, 34, is now riding a two-fight winning streak after edging Fiziev by majority decision in March and has won three of his last four outings. He hasn't lost in a non-title fight since the first Poirier bout.

Poirier came into the fight off a submission win over Michael Chandler last November. This was the 34-year-old's first loss in a non-undisputed title fight - and his first knockout defeat - since facing Michael Johnson in 2016. Poirier is 1-2 in his last three Octagon appearances.