UFC 291 Poirier vs. Gaethje 2 Odds, Tips & Predictions
In a mouthwatering weekend for fight fans, UFC 291 brings the noise to Salt Lake City on Saturday 29th July in a clash that will determine the promotion's baddest motherf'er: Dustin Poirier or Justin Gaethje.
At this point in their careers, these two individuals are vintage UFC warriors who everybody tunes in to see fight because they always bring the heat irrespective of rankings or outcome.
With the BMF (baddest motherf'er) belt now vacant after holder Jorge Masvidal hung up his gloves back in April, this gimmicky title has issued us with the perfect excuse to deliver a rematch between these two all-action fighters.
Both hold 6-2 records since they last fought in 2018; Poirier claiming the scalps of Max Holloway, Conor McGregor twice and most recently Michael Chandler, while Gaethje has knocked out "Cowboy" Cerrone and Tony Ferguson, in addition to two decision victories over Michael Chandler and Rafael Fiziev more recently.
UFC 291 Poirier vs Gaethje Betting Tips
The first time these two had a dust up as the main event of the organisation's 2018 Fight Night card equivalent over on Fox Sports, Poirier was crowned victorious in the fourth round by way of TKO, with a barrage of punches that forced "The Highlight" to take a knee.
When you pit two of the sport's most dangerous fighters against one another, it feels as though it'll take a decapitation or something of the extreme sort to put an end to their contest. It certainly stands to reason that we're going to get a few rounds of them knocking seven shades of **** out of each other before a referee or doctor can interject.
Dustin is the more technical fighter of the two. He possesses more facets to his game than Gaethje. His striking moving forwards and backwards is sharper than Justin's, he wields stronger defensive capabilities and has more diverse grappling skills.
It took "The Diamond" 21:04 to force Herb Dean to call an end to their last dance, and whichever way it falls when they run it back this time, backing Over 2.5 Rounds is the sensible option for those unsure of which fighter to hang their hat on.
Dustin Poirier To Win By Submission
In Poirier's 2018 TKO victory over Gaethje, the Florida-born mixed martial artist outlanded The Highlight 174-115 in significant strikes. Both were bloody, battered and bruised when Joe Rogan entered the cage with his microphone, but Dustin's increased volume clearly took its toll on his opponent and ultimately led to the stoppage.
Promotional material for UFC 291 has shown Poirier grapple heavy during his training camp which could either be a red herring in a bid to gain a psychological advantage over Gaethje, or indicates his strategy for defeating the Arizonian.
Two of Gaethje's last four fights - and half of the defeats in his six-year UFC career - have ended by submission, lending a lot of weight to the idea that Poirier could exploit this hole in his game.
Dustin finished his contest with Chandler in exactly this fashion, forcing him to tap to a rear naked choke - the exact method Charles Oliveira used to overcome Gaethje at UFC 274 in May 2022.
The Highlight, as his name suggests, has a propensity for inflicting serious damage and isn't afraid to put himself in harm's way to deliver that killer blow. He's an untidy fighter, that while there's been an evolution since last fighting Poirier, still has that innate desire to fight with a lot of risk by tucking up and throwing hard without any consideration of what could come back.
It's in one of these exchanges where we anticipate Poirier catching him with a shot that hurts Gaethje, forcing the pair to grapple and resulting in Diamond submitting him in the championship rounds.
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