What’s with the wave of prize belts in the UFC?
BMF belt? Mexican Belt? The UFC seems like they’re embracing the prize belts as of late, having more fun with their athletes and giving them awards. But this is nothing new in fighting. Prize belts that don’t denote a champion have been around for a long time. Let’s take a look at some of history’s examples of this both recent and far in the past.
The BMF Belt: UFC’s Entry to the Prize Belts
MMA fans will be most familiar with the BMF belt. In November of 2019 Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz faced off to be the Baddest Mother F***er. The fight ended when the doctor called off the fight at the end of round 3 due to cuts on Nate Diaz’ face. This certified Masvidal as a bad dude.
Now, there’s a new BMF title on the line as Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje are set to rematch as the headliner of UFC 291. The first fight was Fight of the Night and the second promises to be just as exciting.
There is nothing lineal about the BMF title. It’s a prize belt. If we have a fight between two favorite fighters who always bring the excitement, put a BMF belt on the line.
A Boxing Match From 1810: The Original Prize Belts
When I said we were going to the past, I mean over 200 years into the past. This fight predates the original lineal 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 Molineaux. After fighting for his freedom and immigrating to England, Molineaux began to make a name for himself in Westminister. He beat Jack Burrows of Bristol and called out England’s champion, Tom Cribb.
After some usual boxing politics, Cribb and Molineaux finally fought on December 3rd, 1810. After not being given much of a chance, Molineaux came out and brought all the fight Cribb wanted. 35 rounds of boxing later (this is before Queensbury rules were the dominant ruleset). Molineaux was defeated but the eyes of the public saw him as a hero. This is one of the oldest Rocky moments where the loser is the winner in the crowd’s eyes.
The fight was so huge (the attendance was said to be around 10,000) that King George III himself handed Tom Cribb the first ever championship belt. The belt was crafted from lionskin and sterling silver, a major award for Cribb.
Jake Paul: Boxing’s Bastard Son
Jake Paul is not boxing’s favorite personality. Despite having some big fights, he’s not captured the hearts of boxing’s purists. It’s a weird world where Tom Cobb and Jake Paul are mentioned in the same article, sure. But his “Most Valuable Boxer” belt from the fight with Tyron Woodley has to make the list based on uniqueness alone.
The belt is gaudy, even by boxing’s standards. This one has splatter paint, graffiti, and actual watches on it. It’s quite ugly, sure. But it’s a commemorative prize belt and it makes the list based on it’s uniqueness alone.
Don’t forget other things like Mayweather and McGregor’s Money belt, The Frontline Battle Belt from Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.’s fight. 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.
When Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje rematch, we will be honoring two great fighters in a long lasting tradition of awarding them with hardware.
