UFC 291: Gaethje claims BMF title; Pereira wins co-main event

UFC 291 results: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 291 lived up to the hype with amazing performances by some of the championship’s finest fighters. This time, the main event was in the Lightweight division between Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier. On the other hand, the co-main event was in the Light-heavyweight division between Jan Blachowicz and Alex Pereira. UFC 291 was held at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Here are the results of the main and co-main event:

Main event: Justin Gaethje vs Dustin Poirier (Lightweight division)

Justin Gaethje (United States) claimed the BMF title as he defeated Dustin Poirier (United States) with a right high kick knockout in the early stages of the second round. After running level through the first round — Gaethje landing the great volume, Poirier connecting with the bigger individual shots — and then Gaethje hit back with a perfectly placed kick that went through Poirier’s guard and put him down.

In the post-fight interview, Gaethje said, “Unlike any other sport on Earth, you rarely get a chance at redemption. We take a loss and have to go home with it. I told Dustin he’s my favourite fighter on Earth. Luck and chance are a factor in this cage. I thank God that I came out on the right side this time. It’s a crazy sport. I trust in myself, I trust in my abilities, and I have the support of the world. I hope I just inspired you!”

With this win, Gaethje also won the performance of the night. 

Co-main event: Jan Blachowicz vs Alex Pereira (Light-heavyweight division)

Alex Pereira (Brazil), the former UFC Middleweight champion, made his debut in the Light-heavyweight division and defeated Jan Blachowicz (Poland) by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). After surviving Blachowicz (the former Light-heavyweight champion) on his back for the duration of the opening stanza, Pereira had success on the feet in the second round, quickly getting back up when the Polish veteran took him down in the centre of the cage. The Brazilian landed some strong kicks on his opponent. 

While the Blachowicz had solid moments in the third round, Pereira was the fresher, crisper of the two, seemingly doing enough to secure the win. “It was a very hard fight, but I think I was able to show you guys a bit of my ground (skills). My focus is always the belt. We’ve had conversations about it, and now I’m going to fight for the belt, it doesn’t matter against who. I’ve put in the work, I’ve been training with the former champ Glover Teixeira, I’m not changing anything,” the Brazilian said in his post-fight interview. 

Here are the results of the other fights in UFC 291

> Derrick Lewis defeats Marcos Rogerio de Lima by TKO (strikes) at 0:33 of Round 1

> Bobby Green defeats Tony Ferguson by technical submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:54 of Round 3

> Kevin Holland defeats Michael Chiesa by submission (D’arce choke) at 2:39 of Round 1

> Gabriel Bonfim def. Trevin Giles by submission (guillotine choke) at 1:13 of Round 1.

> CJ Vergara defeats Vinicius Salvador by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

> Roman Kopylov defeats Claudio Ribeiro by KO (left high kick) at 0:33 of Round 2.

> Jake Matthews defeats Darrius Flowers by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:37 of Round 2.

> Uros Medic defeats Matthew Semelsberger by TKO (strikes) at 2:36 of Round 3.

> Miranda Maverick defeats Priscila Cachoeira by submission (armbar) at 2:11 of Round 3.

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