BMF belt? Mexican belt? The UFC seems to be embracing award belts lately, having more fun with their athletes and giving them trophies. But this is nothing new in fighting. Award belts that do not indicate a champion have been around for a long time. Let’s take a look at some historical examples of this in the recent and distant past.
BMF Belt: The UFC’s entry into the award belts
MMA fans will be most familiar with the BMF belt. In November of 2019, Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz faced off on being the worst mom. The fight ended when the doctor called off the fight at the end of the third round due to cuts on Nate Diaz’s face. This validates Masvidal as a bad guy.
Now, there’s a new BMF title on the line as Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje are set to co-headline at UFC 291. The first fight was Fight of the Night and the second promises to be just as exciting.
There is nothing specific about the BMF surname. It’s an award belt. If we have a fight between two favorite fighters that always bring excitement, then put the BMF belt on the line.
A boxing match from 1810: the original prize belts
When I say we’re going into the past, I mean more than 200 years in the past. This fight predates the original boxing champion in John L. Sullivan. A former slave who fought his way out of slavery by boxing other slaves to entertain plantation owners. His name was Tom Molyneux. After fighting for his freedom and emigrating to England, Molyneux began to make a name for himself in Westminster. beat Bristol’s Jack Burrows and call up the England champions, Tom Cripp.
After some usual boxing politics, Cribb and Molyneux finally fought on December 3, 1810. After not giving them much of a chance, Molyneux came out and brought all the fight Cribb wanted. After 35 rounds of boxing (this was before the Queensberry Rules prevailed). Molyneux was defeated, but the public’s eyes saw him as a hero. This is one of the oldest rocky Moments when the loser is the winner in the eyes of the audience.
The fight was so huge (attendance was said to be around 10,000) that King George III handed himself the first-ever championship belt to Tom Cribb. The belt is made of lion skin and sterling silver, a Cribb’s Grand Prix.
Jake Paul: Son of a Boxing Bastard
Jake Paul is not my favorite boxing character. Despite getting into some big fights, he has yet to capture the hearts of boxing purists. It’s such a strange world that Tom Cobb and Jake Paul were definitely mentioned in the same article. But his Most Valuable Boxer belt from the fight with Tyron Woodley should make the list based on exclusivity alone.
The belt is flashy, even by boxing standards. This one has splatter paint, graffiti, and actual clocks on it. It’s definitely very ugly. But it is a commemorative award belt and makes the list based on its uniqueness alone.
Don’t forget other things like Mayweather, McGregor’s Money belt and The Frontline Battle Belt from fighting Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto fought for the WBC Diamond Belt. Canelo and Billy Joe Saunders fought for the Mestizo belt. The list goes on and on.
In this Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje rematch, we’ll be honoring two great fighters in a long-standing tradition of awarding them gear.
Your friendly neighborhood fan fight. I watch a lot of fights and my wife lets me know.