SALT LAKE CITY — Justin Gaethje won the main event lightweight fight at UFC 291 on Saturday night with a head kick one minute into the second round.
Gaethje (26-4) celebrated his victory by going to the top of the Octagon barrier and flipping off it.
Justin Gaethje knocks out Dustin Poirier to win the UFC 291 lightweight title.
His wonderfully timed headshot enabled him to avenge a loss to Poirier in 2018, when he was knocked out with strikes in the fourth round.
“This second chance at redemption was amazing,” Gaethje added. “It motivated me to work harder in order to be ready.” Justin Gaethje knocks out Dustin Poirier to win the UFC 291 lightweight title.
It was Gaethje’s 20th knockout or TKO victory, and his seventh in his past nine fights. He also got his first goal knockout win since UFC 249 in 2020.
“I was surprised by myself and how good I fought,” Gaethje stated.
According to FanDuel, Poirier (29-8) enters the rematch between the two former interim lightweight champions as a minus-152 favourite. In the first round, he battled Gaethje blow for blow, earning a 10-9 advantage on two of three scorecards, before being swiftly eliminated in the second.
The decisive high kick from one former champ surprised the other because it was not a move he anticipated to see from Gaethje.
“I thought I had four more rounds,” said Poirier. “I had no idea I had two minutes left.”
Gaethje became the second UFC fighter to be awarded a BMF title after the victory.
Beating Poirier paves the door for Gaethje to face the winner of Islam Makhachev vs. Charles Oliveira, which is expected to take place at UFC 294 in October.
Gaethje’s BMF victory against Poirier was the highlight of a five-fight main event.
Alex Pereira won a split decision over Jan Blachowicz in the co-main event of a light heavyweight fight, his eighth victory in his past nine fights.
Pereira (8-2), ranked second at middleweight, made his light heavyweight debut at UFC 291 after losing the middleweight title belt to Israel Adesanya via knockout at UFC 287 in April.
Blachowicz (29-10-1) did not make the transition in weight class a smooth one for the former champion.
He weathered early takedowns in the first two rounds and rallied in the third round.
Derrick Lewis earned a record 14th knockout win over Marcos Rogerio de Lima just 33 seconds into the first round of the heavyweight bout.
The No.10-ranked Lewis (27-11) scored an immediate takedown with a flying knee and pummeled 15th-ranked Rogerio de Lima (21-10-1) with repeated punches to score the early finish.
He celebrated his three-fight winning streak by taking off his shorts and dancing around the Octagon.
“The win means a lot to me,” Lewis added. “I had a lot of pressure on me coming into this fight, and I just wanted to prove to everyone that I’m still one of the best fighters in the world.”
Bobby Green defeated Tony Ferguson in the third round of the lightweight fight by submission via choke with six seconds remaining.
Green (30-14-1) controlled the final two rounds to secure his second career submission, scoring takedowns in both while raining down relentless blows that destroyed his opponent.
Ferguson (26-9) was denied a shot at his first UFC victory since 2019, sending the 39-year-old fighter home with his sixth straight defeat.
Kevin Holland easily defeated Michael Chiesa in the welterweight fight.
Holland (25-9) submitted the 12th-ranked Chiesa, who was competing for the first time in two years, at 2:39 in the first round.
He used his length and punching ability to trap Chiesa (18-7) in a D’arce choke, forcing him to tap out quickly.
Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, Jazz coach Will Hardy, and former Jazz players Deron Williams and Karl Malone were among those in attendance for the Beehive State’s second UFC pay-per-view event in 11 months.
The UFC reported a $6.5 million live gate, shattering the previous venue record established at UFC 278 in August 2022. A sellout crowd of 18,467 people attended.
