The day before, the attention of MMA fans was riveted to the American Salt Lake City, where the chic 291 was held 1st numbered tournament of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The show gave us many significant moments: a cool finish from Siberian Roman Kopylov, a broken bottom (although, it would seem, much deeper?) by Tony Ferguson, amazing the return of Derrick Lewis, the controversial debut of Alex Pereira in the light heavyweight category … And there was also a knockout in the main fight of the evening: Justin Gaethje knocked out Dustin Poirier and not only took revenge from Brilliant for the defeat in 2018, but also became the second owner of the belt almost forgotten by everyone «The Most Dangerous Bastard» (BMF).
Yes, the image of an American outside the octagon is definitely not comparable to the personality of Jorge Masvidal, who in 2019 became the first owner of the BMF title. He not only knocked out Ben Askren with his knee in five seconds, but also fought in street fights, knocked out the teeth of the hated Colby Covington at the Miami club and went to the police.
But in the cage, ex-interim UFC champion Gaethje is a real a monster, after the hunt of which the fan cannot remain disappointed.The magic of the capital of the 2002 Olympics
Yesterday's main event was no exception: the collection of highlights (memorable moments) of the fighter nicknamed Highlight was replenished with another fiery video. Throughout the first round, the Americans fought in the standing position, showing an extremely close five-minute time limit. Such a «shootout» could continue the entire distance, but in the second round the fight ended. And the stadium «Vivint Arena» came to ecstasy.As Dustin later admitted, he did not see the kick to the head at all. Despite years of training, Poirier did not have time to set up a full-fledged block — the haikik, so terrible in strength, which Gaethje «never trained during the preparatory camp», reached the goal. Diamond was knocked out for the first time since 2016, in addition to missing an unnecessary finishing blow. Referee Herb Dean blocked the loser further, and it was all over.
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“In other sports, you rarely get a chance to get revenge,” these were Gaethje’s first words after resounding success. “We fail and rarely get a chance to come back. I believed in myself all this time… I told Dustin that he was my favorite fighter. Chance and luck are important factors in a cage. I am grateful to God that I came out the winner. «/
It is amazing that a year ago the UFC 278 tournament was held in Salt Lake City, and then in the main event of the evening the favorite also flew into a knockout after a haikick! It was Leon Edwards who got the better of Kamaru Usman with a minute left in the show to become the Welterweight Champion. -year-old native of Safford, Arizona?
- Justin has 25 wins in 29 professional fights. And 20 of them are knockouts;
- For 12 fights in the UFC, Gaethje took 12 bonuses of 50 thousand dollars. Let's calculate: during his performances in the world's main MMA promotion, Justin earned $600 thousand only thanks to them; massacres against Michael Johnson (2017), Poirier (2018) and Michael Chandler (2022).
But there was still Ferguson's career derailed (El Cucuy approached the fight with Highlight on a series of 12 victories and began to wither after an early defeat), knockouts in battles with the eminent Donald «Cowboy» Cerrone and Edson Barboza, a bloody batch with Rafael Fiziev. All this rightfully makes the US representative the most spectacular fighter in the UFC. No other mixed martial arts star will pick up arguments such as those given above. ;hd=2″ width=»100%» height=»100%» allow=»autoplay; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;» frameborder=»0″ allowfullscreen=»»>
Gati even loses cool. All of his failures were in fights with ex-interim/undisputed UFC champions, and that title fights with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira, that the first meeting with Poirier and one of the best fights of 2018 against Eddie Alvarez shocked the fans with their drama.
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“My father worked at the mine, he retired in 2019. Mom has been working at the post office for 35 years. It's time for her to quit her job. I agreed with her: I will give them and my dad part of the money after the fight with Khabib, which will provide them with a decent old age. They spent every cent on us, they gave me and my brother and sisters a happy childhood — I want to repay them in kind. » />
Justin Gati
American MMA fighter
Last chance for greatness
Even without a belt, the name of the American is forever inscribed in the history of MMA, but with a triumph in the title «The letters in the annals will become golden. The protagonist of UFC 291 took the opportunity to get even with Poirier — will it be possible to get the better of Islam Makhachev and take the belt of the absolute champion of the promotion on the third attempt? As before, Gaethje will open with a clear underdog in terms of odds and will try to block the opponent's catastrophic advantage in the fight with his striking technique.
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"I want to fight for the title. This guy (Makhachev) will fight in October … Win, lose or draw, but I will do my best, ”Justin announces a new challenge.
Anyway, it is worth waiting for the autumn tournament in Abu Dhabi and the rematch of Islam with Oliveira. If everything goes in favor of the Russian, Gaethje will share the cage with Khabib's successor at the beginning of 2024.