The UFC’s BMF belt is about to be put on the line for the 3rd time in the belt’s history. This UFC title started out as a gimmick, but it’s now a championship that many fighters want to possess.
Here’s the complete history of the BMF belt and how the UFC title was created. Read the full history below to learn the short history of this gimmick championship.
What is the BMF Belt?
The BMF belt is a gimmick UFC title that was created for a UFC match featuring Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal. BMF stands for “Bad Mother F***er” and the person who holds the title is considered the baddest mfer in MMA.
The History of the BMF Belt
The BMF belt was originally a gimmick created to hype up a fight between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz in 2019. At the time, Masvidal and Diaz were two of the hottest MMA fighters in the sport.
Jorge Masvidal was on a career resurgence after knocking out Darren Till and Ben Askren. Nate Diaz was back after a hiatus from fighting and facing Anthony Pettis at UFC 241.
Diaz earned a decision win over Pettis and took the mic to declare himself “the baddest mfer in the game.” While speaking, he also called out Jorge Masvidal, who was sitting cageside for a future fight.
Masvidal gladly accepted and the publicity for the match started. Both fighters took to social media and began hyping up a match.
They began calling the bout the fight to declare who the baddest mfer in the UFC is. They even wanted to get a belt made and main-event a future UFC card.
UFC President Dana White originally had no interest in making the fight or creating a BMF belt. He initially said he was never going to make the match and especially not a championship belt for the fight.
However, thanks to campaigning from the two fighters and fans, White gave in and made the fight happen. Hype packages for the fight dropped and it was announced a legitimate BMF belt would be up for grabs.
Thanks to the push from UFC fans, the BMF belt was born.
BMF Matches
In the short history of the BMF belt, the gimmick UFC title has been fought for on two occasions. Here’s a breakdown of those two matches.
Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal UFC 244 (Inaugural BMF Title Bout)
The original UFC match for the BMF belt took place between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal at UFC 244. This fight was hyped like a big time fight with numerous hype videos and a countdown series created.
Then along with the fight announcements, it was also announced the belt would be presented by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The Diaz vs. Masvidal match had a big fight feel and the atmosphere was electric.
Jorge Masvidal controlled the fight from the first moments of the bout. He landed harder strikes, which opened a nasty cut above Nate’s eyes.
The fight doctor called a stop to the fight in the 3rd round and Jorge Masvidal became the first BMF champion.
Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje UFC 291
Fight fans had to wait four years to see the BMF belt be fought for again. When Jorge Masvidal retired from MMA, he vacated the belt, leaving it up for grabs.
In 2023, an epic rematch between Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje was announced to take place at UFC 291. Along with the news of the rematch, the UFC also made this bout for the vacant BMF title.
Just as expected, their rematch was fireworks from the start. Both former champions landed powerful shots, but this time Gaethje got the advantage.
Justin got Dusing with a nasty head kick to win by knockout and become the new BMF champion.
Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway UFC 300
It was recently announced that Justin Gaethje would defend his BMF belt at UFC 300 against Max Holloway. This bout has garnered mixed reactions from fight fans.
Some fight fans are excited for the bout, while others have criticized the match-making. Some feel that Holloway is outmatched and may get hurt fighting Gaethje.
Other critics, like former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, feel the fight leaves champion Islam Makhachev without an opponent.
We’ll have to wait to see what will happen on fight day.
Is The BMF Title a Legitimate UFC Championship?
While the BMF belt is a fun gimmick, it is not a legitimate UFC title. The belt is just a fun prop that a fan campaign pushed into reality.
Truthfully, the main reason why the belt was even created in the first place was to prop up a weak UFC card. In 2019, when match-makers were initially setting up UFC 244, they lost their main event.
They needed a fight to draw fans in to watch the event and a Diaz vs. Masvidal match was a perfect option. A lot of hype was created for the fight, a belt was made, and the PPV drew far more money than anticipated.
Now, the UFC has a great gimmick in the BMF belt to create hype around future fights between fan favorites.
What’s the Future of the UFC BMF Title?
It appears that the UFC’s BMF title is here to stay for the foreseeable future. The belt really has no significance, but it’s a great way for the organization to hype up a fight. We’ll continue to see BMF belt from time to time until the UFC gets tired of it and it goes away.