Masvidal loves return of BMF title: Fighters must 'give their life'

Jorge Masvidal, the original BMF champion, is among those excited to see the UFC re-introduce the mythical "baddest motherf----r" championship belt he once held.

With Masvidal retiring from MMA earlier in 2023, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje are scheduled to meet for the BMF title at UFC 291 on July 29. Masvidal won the inaugural - and only - BMF fight via TKO over Nate Diaz in 2019, and he said Wednesday it makes sense for the UFC to bring the title back.

"I love it," Masvidal said on "The MMA Hour." on Wednesday. "Keep it alive. Pick the right fighters to do it that are going to f-----g give their life. The first BMF fight, you got to see what it should be about - guys trying to kill each other and, no matter what, pushing forward. If the referee doesn't stop that, I literally would have to kill Nate Diaz because he was going to keep coming, keep coming, and keep coming. And I was more than ready to kill him.

"But that's what it needs to be. When you get in there, you have to understand, you have to go for it all. You have to put on a show for these motherf-----s around the world. ... I think they picked the right two candidates to do that."

Poirier and Gaethje are two of the UFC's top lightweights and widely considered two of the most entertaining fighters in the sport. They own eight and seven Fight of the Night bonuses, respectively.

One of those bonuses came from their first meeting in 2018, which Poirier won by fourth-round TKO. Masvidal, who was Poirier's teammate at American Top Team before retiring, said he believes "The Diamond" will once again get his hand raised against Gaethje.

"Obviously, I'm leaning heavy toward Dustin just because he whopped his ass the first time and mopped him up," Masvidal said. "But I think he's going to do it the second time, and even better and cleaner."