The UFC heads to Salt Lake City, Utah this weekend for UFC 291. The event will be held Saturday, July 29, at The Delta Center. The main card has five fights with lightweights Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje in the main event for the fictional “BMF” title. The card begins at 10 p.m. ET with ESPN+ PPV handling the broadcast.
The co-main event features a light heavyweight clash between former middleweight champion Alex Pereira, making his light heavyweight debut, against former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz. The preliminary card is seven fights with the “late” preliminaries on ABC and ESPN at 8 p.m.
Poirier (29-7) is a former UFC interim lightweight champion and won the previous bout against Gaethje on April 14, 2018. He is one of the most consistent and popular fighters in the UFC and has faced nearly every top name in the lightweight division. His most notable wins have come against Conor McGregor, who he has beaten twice, and Michael Chandler. He’s had two title shots and lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira, respectively, each time by submission.
Gaethje (24-4) is arguably the best action fighter in the UFC. He has collected “Fight of the Night” or “Performance of the Night” bonuses in each of his 11 fights in the octagon. Notable wins include Chandler, Rafael Fiziev, Tony Ferguson and Donald Cerrone. He has also had two title shots and lost to Nurmagomedov and Oliveira, both by submission.
Poirier is a -140 favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook. Gaethje is the underdog at +120.
The main card for the event is scheduled to get started at 10 p.m. ET and will be available for purchase through ESPN+ PPV. The card is headlined by Poirier vs. Gaethje. Their bout is likely to get going around 12:15 a.m. ET, depending on the length of the undercard and previous bouts on the card.