UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev had some strong and partially correct criticism for one of the fights on the UFC 300 card.
The UFC has booked a high-profile battle between popular fighters Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje. The bout will be contested for the unofficial BMF title. While the belt has garnered some attention from fans and is usually contested for by some of the more accomplished fighters in the promotion’s history, not everyone is a fan.
“I don’t want to make people upset, but this is a useless fight for a useless belt,” Makhachev told MMA Junkie. “Nobody gains anything from this fight. I have three guys: (Arman) Tsarukyan, (Charles) Oliveira, and Gaethje, but Tsarukyan and Oliveira – I beat them already. But I have Gaethje – he deserves to fight for the title now. This is a good time for him.”
Makhachev referred to the fight and belt as “useless.” I agree with the second part. The UFC has prided itself on eliminating a ton of the watered-down concepts that have hampered boxing over the past three decades. Too many secondary titles being one of the biggest examples.
While the BMF belt is just one additional “title” on top of the divisional and occasional interim championships, it has always felt like a forced concept designed to prop up over-the-hill fighters whose names are still big, but their practical path to a world title is limited.
The first BMF title fight saw Jorge Masvidal defeat a past-his-prime Nate Diaz via TKO at UFC 244. Masvidal didn’t defend the title, he later retired.
Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier fought for it at UFC 291 with the former winning by spectacular head-kick KO over Poirier.
It’s hard to know what to make of this concept. Masvidal and Diaz were in different points of their careers than Gaethje and Poirier. And it seems that’s part of Makhachev’s point. Neither Gaethje nor Poirier were or is currently done as a legit title contender.
To Makhachev’s point, Gaethje could easily be the champion’s next challenger. Poirier just secured a sensational stoppage win over the up-and-coming Benoit Saint-Denis at UFC 299 to plop his name firmly back into the title conversation.
Gaethje remains a top contender and Holloway is arguably the greatest featherweight of all time. He could have a path to another shot at the 145-pound title with Ilia Topuria defeating Alexander Volkanovski earlier this year.
Yet, he is taking this fight at a weight class above the one he’s fought at his entire career for a mostly non-descript title.
“He [Gaethje] showed a good performance in the last two fights,” Gaethje continued. “For Holloway, he already has a new champion (at featherweight), and he can fight now with (Ilia) Topuria. But they put (Gaethje and Holloway) against) each other. I don’t know. This fight for me, it’s nothing. For the fans, it’s going to be a good fight. They both like to give damage, like to fight, like to box always. But for me, and for the (lightweight) division, the fight means nothing.”
It’s tough to disagree. We’re almost certain to see non-stop action in a fight between these two future Hall-of-Famers, but the BMF inclusion seems forced and unnecessary.
