Jorge Masvidal fulfilled his duties handing Justin Gaethje the “BMF’ title after his win at UFC 291 but he was definitely heartbroken after watching his friend and teammate Dustin Poirier fall by knockout in the main event.
It was a stunning conclusion to a rematch that had been billed as a guaranteed Fight of the Year contender but Gaethje put that to rest after he unleashed a brutal head kick in the second round that blasted Poirier and sent him crashing to the canvas. Of course, Masvidal was openly rooting for Poirier to win but it turns out he also suffered a loss of his own thanks to Gaethje’s knockout.
“[I’m] making wagers that I probably shouldn’t,” Masvidal told TNT Sports after UFC 291. “I put $100,000 on D.P, on Dustin Poirier. Kids I’m sorry, you’ve got to go to public school now.”
All jokes aside, Masvidal did give Gaethje credit on a job well done after he surprised Poirier with the head kick, which was a rarely used weapon from his arsenal.
Gaethje actually threw a similar head kick in the first round but Poirier blocked it effectively.
In his second attempt, Gaethje threw a punch and baited Poirier into a counter strike, which allowed him the opening to launch the head kick that ended the fight.
“I felt Dustin was dictating the pace, landing the better shots in the first round,” Masvidal said about Poirier’s performance. “It was all going Dustin’s way and then the fight game [happened]. Justin looked down and came up with the head kick and caught my boy, which it was a perfect kick. Dustin actually kind of caught some of it because he had his hand up but he didn’t have both hands up so the kick wrapped around the back of his head and that was all she wrote. That was a hell of a shot.
“Dustin looked in the best shape ever and obviously he’s my teammate so I wanted the world for him, I wanted him to win but hats off to Justin. Great fight and a great competitor always.”
While Masvidal may have taken a hit to his bank account as a result of the fight, he was mostly just bummed to see Poirier lose.
That definitely stung more than the six-figure wager gone wrong.
“I’m just hurt,” Masvidal said. “I wanted my boy to get that belt.”
