Hooray! Everyone's favorite belt is going to be up for grabs again soon. Dana, a man who never saw a money-making gimmick that he didn't like, continues to push this belt that almost nobody cares about just so that he can put two names against one another that don't really have any reason to fight one another.
The original BMF match was a complete wash with Nate Diaz being unable to continue because he was bleeding too much. Jorge Masvidal won the inaugural belt and it was at that time that it was expected to be a "one and done" event since it was such a huge letdown that the match didn't even reach a real conclusion.
The belt stayed hidden for nearly 4 years until someone decided they needed a reason for Gaetje and Poirier to fight one another so a feud was invented between the two guys who are actually quite friendly with one another, and we got another stupid, but sold out event. The last BMF belt matchup saw Max Holloway and Gaetje give us one hell of a show that resulted in Gaethje getting KO'd in the final seconds of the match.
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moments before lights out!
The fighters probably enjoy the increased payday that the BMF belt affords and they are probably forced contractually to not bad-mouth the concept behind it but some fighters have come out and openly expressed their disdain for the belt's existence. For one thing, the actual BMF at that weight is not either of the guys in the fight, we all know that because they are never the title-holders of the division that they are fighting in, so the BMF belt is more of a consolation prize side-show.
Now, one could argue that this encourages them to really go all out at these showdowns because the belt doesn't really matter. It's just clout and I think Gaetje was reprimanded when he publicly quipped that he keeps the belt at home under his bed. It's a made up award for the sake of promoting an event that otherwise wouldn't happen. So I guess, despite the fact that I think it is an illegitimate championship, it does kind of force two people into the octagon that are crowd-pleasers. There will never be a grappling specialist considered for a BMF bout.
At the same time though I think that Dana himself is a little disillusioned about how seriously the fans and the fighters themselves actually take the BMF belt. when he said this "It doesn’t rub me (the wrong way) at all. I love that people love that belt and want to fight for it,”
Do people (fans and fighters) actually "love that belt" Dana, honestly, do they? To me it takes UFC just another step towards being WWE and we should go ahead and get working on a Royal Rumble while we are at it. Now there is something that I would like to see because it would be absolute mayhem. Good luck officiating that Herb Dean!
When Dana says there is a new BMF belt in the works I can only wonder what sort of side show he is working on. Let's throw out weight classes and put a number 30 heavyweight against a top 5 flyweight so we can put the heavier is better or not rumor to rest.