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Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal are set to square off at UFC 244 in a Welterweight bout for the aptly-named "BMF" title belt. These two UFC long-stays have agreed to terms and despite significant road-blocks in the lead-up to the event, the winner is set to be crowned by Hollywood icon and WWE legend Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on November 2nd.
There has been no shortage of controversy and drama in the build-up to what looks to be a blockbuster card at New York's legendary Madison Square Garden. Originally set to be headlined by Welterweight champions Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal are set to main event in a fight for the newly formed "BMF" Championship belt.
On top of this it appeared that the "BMF" fight would not be taking place after USADA (the UFC's contracted anti-doping agency) flagged Diaz for trace amounts of SARM: an anabolic agent covered by USADA's extensive drug testing. Since then, Diaz has been cleared of wrongdoing by USADA, as the source of the elevated levels was found to be a tainted supplement.
UFC 244 and specifically main event title bout has received widespread attention, both positive and negative from UFC fighters such as Conor McGregor and Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson who has referred to the newly created title as "trash". UFC fans are also mixed in their opinions of the belt. Adding on top of that with The Rock weighing in on Twitter, the "BMF" title has generated significant publicity for the UFC.
With the fight scheduled to happen again, there are many potential opportunities for the UFC to capitalise on such publicity for the newly-formed Championship; these are just a few potential possibilities that we may see:
#5 No contest
The match may result in a no contest leaving The Rock with nobody to strap the belt to. As unlikely as this is, it's not a totally improbable scenario. We have just seen Jake Hager's bout at Bellator 231 ruled a no contest after an accidental knee to the crotch of his opponent: Anthony Garrett. We also recently witnessed Jeremy Stephens and Yair Rodriguez ruled a no contest after an unfortunate eye poke just 15 seconds into the main event of last month's UFC Fight Night 159 in Mexico City.
This is probably the worst case scenario as the fans would leave disappointed, much of the "BMF" hype would be derailed, and The Rock would be left holding a $50,000 belt with no victor left to strap it onto. Perhaps, this wouldn't be the worst thing however, as given this circumstance we would almost certainly see a rematch further down the line.
Ultimately, we would either see the "BMF" title go out with an unimpressive whimper if the terms for a rematch could not be agreed upon, or it wrapped neatly around the waist of one of the two competitors.
#4 Masvidal wins
Fresh off his five-second victory against the undefeated Ben Askren, the fastest victory in UFC history, Jorge Masvidal appears to be gaining popularity and momentum in a time when we would expect him to be winding down after a long and respectable career.
Miami-born Masvidal who has been fighting professionally since 2003 may find himself scoring the victory over Nate Diaz, likely via KO or TKO judging by his last seven fights and striking style. It will be no easy feat scoring a KO over the notoriously tough Diaz but if Masvidal is the victor it will most likely be via his hard-hitting strikes.
Masvidal may be the only "BMF" title winner because UFC President Dana White claims the title match is a "one-and-done" affair. Despite this, things can change quickly in the UFC when there is opportunity on-the-table.
For example, White previously claimed that women will "never" fight in the UFC, but later reneged on this statement after seeing the box-office success and popularity of the likes of Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate in rival promotion: Strikeforce MMA.
However, in this scenario, we will take Dana at his word and consider the possibility that Jorge Masvidal will be the one-and-only "BMF" champion. A worthy and unique accomplishment to add to the career of an underrated veteran of the game.
Given Masvidal's understated persona, it is not as likely that the title would be showcased at future press conferences and UFC events than if his opponent were to be victorious. It would likely be referenced in Masvidal's remaining fights, although I wouldn't expect to see the title itself on UFC programming after UFC 244.
#3 Diaz wins
In this situation, we consider that Diaz may be crowned the first-and-only "BMF" champion, a title that came about after Diaz referred to himself as the "baddest m**********r in the game."
Nate Diaz is easily one of the most recognisable and highly popular competitors of the sport, after being the first to beat the previously undefeated Conor McGregor. A unique individual in many respects, Diaz has a signature style consisting of a range of boxing and ground-game. His black-belt level BJJ may serve him well against Masvidal who has not been KO'd or submitted since 2009. In the case that Diaz wins I would expect it to be via TKO/submission or failing that, a five-round decision, mostly due to Diaz's superior ground game.
Following his recent return and impressive win over Anthony Pettis at UFC 241, Diaz would silence any doubters with a big win over Jorge Masvidal for the newly formed title. We would no doubt see Nate donning the title at future press conferences and UFC events.
Even if UFC President Dana White is correct in saying that it's never to be defended again, it is very likely that Nate would not soon let us forget that he's the "baddest m**********r in the game" with the hardware on display as evidence of his claim.
#2 Lightweight signature
The current level of competition in the Lightweight division is very high, with many potential "BMF-ers" that could challenge Diaz/Masvidal for the belt in the aftermath of the result of the upcoming matchup. The BMF belt could become a lightweight mainstay making it's way around the division.
With the dominant Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagamedov currently at the top of the mountain (and debatably not likely to lose the belt any time soon) the UFC has a litany of potential matchups to keep the rest of the division hot by putting together fresh Lightweight fights for the newly-created "BMF" title.
The most exciting immediate matchup could be "The Notorious" Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz in their third matchup together. These two UFC superstars have traded wins over one another in two of the biggest box-office-selling fights of all time.
There is little doubt that if the right conditions were met for both stars, the long awaited trilogy fight would do record numbers for the UFC. With the addition of the "BMF" title that The Notorious One recently referred to on Twitter as the "Interim BMF title", the hype and build to this fight would be memorable.
In the circumstance that McGregor beats Diaz for the title, the belt and it's legacy would not soon be forgotten. The title would doubtlessly be flaunted at every appropriate occasion - we would not be allowed to forget the preceding legacy of the "BMF" strap. An expert of generating hype and building anticipation, McGregor would significantly elevate the title and it's significance whilst bolstering his own reputation as the "baddest motherfu**er".
Other potential scenarios are that the winner of the inaugural "BMF" bout could face UFC Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov or his presumed upcoming opponent, No.1 contender Tony Ferguson to become a new double-champ of sort.
UFC legend Georges St-Pierre has also been teasing a return to the sport in the lightweight division with him stating that he wants to cement his already-unparalleled legacy by matching-up against Khabib for the Lightweight Title. Given that this fight doesn't occur, it's not out of the realms of possibility that GSP would accept a fight against whoever the reigning BMF champion of the time would be. McGregor vs GSP for the "BMF" title would likely be the biggest fight in UFC history.
Other possible Lightweight candidates for "BMF" title fights are renowned tough-guys of the sport such as "Cowboy" Donald Cerrone, Justin Gaethje, Dan Hooker and Al Iaquinta. All would be deserving recipients of the "Bad M***********r" descriptor.
#1 Floating title
If the UFC decides to put its full weight behind the "BMF" title, we could see it exchange hands across weight-divisions. In this circumstance, it could make its way down to the lower weight classes around the waist of the likes of Cody Garbrandt or TJ Dillashaw. Inversely, it would be a spectacle to see the likes of Jon Jones, Francis Ngannou or Daniel Cormier battling-it-out for the "BMF" title at Heavyweight or Light Heavyweight.
I'd expect that the current holder would issue a challenge for the belt at an agreed-upon weight division. Throughout several fights, we could see opponents from different weight divisions challenging for the belt.
As a result, with the tides of wins and losses, we could see the belt "float" from weight-division to weight-division and adopt a lineage that lays separate of the typical restraints that lie on UFC's current Championship belts.
In a way, we already see a version of this in the fact that Diaz and Masvidal are typically lightweights, however, have agreed to exchange fists (and knees etc.) at Welterweight, and yet still fight for a title. This is a unique scenario and could not be achieved within a weight-division.
The only limitations on the Championship are those that the UFC decides to put on it. If UFC 244 does high numbers (which it is squaring up to do) then it is very possible that the title could become a mainstay of the sport in a cross-division "floating" capacity. UFC has a reputation for having a title on the line on every major card... even if this means conjuring up sometimes-unnecessary interim title fights.
The "BMF" title could be a viable alternative to this, just as it is for UFC 244 after the initial Welterweight Title headliner between Colby Covington and Kamaru Usman fell through.
Dependant on the commercial success of Diaz vs. Masvidal at UFC 244, UFC has much opportunity to create new top-level title bouts through the endless possibilities presented by the "BMF" Championship. Regardless of what the UFC decides to do with the "BMF" title going forward, we're looking to have a great night of fights this coming Saturday.
