Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Max Holloway celebrates after knocking out Justin Gaethje (not pictured) during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

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The Curse of UFC BMF Belt Is REAL!!

Learn All About the Reality of the Curse of the BMF Belt in the UFC.

Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Max Holloway celebrates after knocking out Justin Gaethje (not pictured) during UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The UFC seems to have a cursed object in their hands. It is the BMF title that was first introduced at UFC 244. Jorge Masvidal became the very first winner of the title by defeating Nate Diaz in that fight.

The UFC fighters that have won the belt seem to have fallen under a curse since then. Max Holloway presently holds the BMF belt in the UFC. Read all about about the apparently real curse of the UFC BMF Belt

The BMF Belt Winners Lose Their Very Next Match via Knockout

The BMF Belt in the UFC stands for “Baddest Motherfucker” as Nate Diaz had described it. This belt is apparently said to be cursed. Every winner of this belt had lost their very next fight through a knockout. It all started with Jorge Masvidal. He won the belt at UFC 244 in November 2019 as per the UFC official site. He then lost his very night fight against Kamaru Usman at UFC 261 via knockout.

The second case was that of Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje at UFC 291. Justin Gaethje won the title. He then received a knockout loss in his very next fight against Max Holloway at UFC 300 as per the UFC official site.

Max Holloway presently possesses the BMF Belt in the UFC. He will be defending it against Dustin Poirier in their third fight of the trilogy at UFC 318 (via UFC on X) –

WHO WILL BE THE BADDEST OF THEM ALL???

The hometown kid @DustinPoirier challenges @BlessedMMA for the BMF belt in his final trip to the Octagon!#UFC318 | @GNOSports | Learn More: https://t.co/GUdzvfNyaj pic.twitter.com/fDnILvrVwW
— UFC (@ufc) April 25, 2025

This fight will also be Dustin Poirier’s farewell to the UFC world. Max Holloway has the belt. So he is the latest fighter who is apparently been cursed. Only time will reveal whether he is “blessed” enough to break the curse of the BMF Belt and retain it or not.

Is The BMF Belt Really Cursed?

The BMF Belt is believed to be cursed in the UFC as the winners lose their very next fights. However, there are also skeptical theories to this as per reports. The theories state that the fight for the title requires the fighters to be even more intense They also need to display an increased level of toughness than they would in any other title or non-title fight. Hence, these fighters do not get enough time to recover by the time their next fight comes around as per reports. Thus, they cannot give their best in the fight and lose it as a result.

However, if the BMF Belt is really cursed, maybe the UFC should retire it. They might give it to Zak Bagans to keep it in his Haunted Museum.

Dustin Poirier

Jorge Masvidal

Justin Gaethje

Max Holloway

MMA

Nate Diaz

UFC

Arka Mukherjee

mlb

mma

wrestling

I’m a sports content writer focusing on MMA, WWE and MLB writer at The Playoffs. I have a Master’s degree in Media Science (M.Sc) from my college The Heritage Academy. I got into the sports industry through my previous company where I worked from 2023 to March 2025. I’m a fan of combat sports like pro wrestling and MMA. My favorite part about working at The Playoffs is speculating what can be happening in WWE, especially face-heel turns and results of matches.