This past Saturday at UFC 241, Nate Diaz successfully defended The Baddest Motherfucker in the Game Title when he defeated Anthony Pettis.
For many fans, this was probably the first time they have heard of the Baddest Motherfucker in the Game Title, but the belt has a rich history, dating back to 2007. But before you learn the history of BMG Title, you must first know the stipulations of BMG Title.
The belt can only be won via finish. Beating the reigning BMG by decision doesn't actually make you the Baddest Motherfucker in the Game. It means you had 15 or 25 minutes to prove you were the BMG and couldn't get the job done, but three opionators were paid to pick a winner. No self-respecting BMG would accept the title in this manner.
There is no vacating of the title or an interim BMG Title. There is only one BMG. None of that fake belt bullshit.
The Baddest Motherfucker in the Game Championship came to fruition in 2007 when Nate Diaz walked into The Ultimate Fighter house. The first-ever BMG Title fight took place between Jens Pulver and BJ Penn...in a ping pong match. Those who watched The Ultimate Fighter 5 know that this ping pong match was more compelling than 97% of MMA fights today because all these dudes suck. The epic back-and-forth battle ended with Pulver besting Penn and earning the inaugural Baddest Motherfucker in the Game Championship.
Though Penn and Pulver fought months after their historic ping pong game, the BMG Title was not on the line because, in the BMG universe, there are no automatic rematches. This is war. Penn lost on the paddles. All his shit is Pulver's.
Pulver defended the belt against Cub Swanson, and though he lost a fight to Faber, he did not lose his title.
Pulver would eventually lose the BMG Title to Leonard Garcia, who prevented Lil Eagle from flying by finishing him with strikes in just over a minute at WEC 36. Garcia's reign didn't last long as Mike Brown defeated him in under two minutes with an arm triangle at WEC 39. Mike Brown held the title for less than a year thanks to Jose Aldo, who needed just over six minutes to put Mike Brown away at WEC 44.
Aldo would go on to become the most decorated Baddest Motherfucker in the Game Champion in history. He successfully defended the title against Urijah Faber, Manvel Gamburyan, Mark Hominick, Kenny Florian, Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, Korean Zombie, Ricardo Lamas, and Mendes again.
Aldo's historic reign would come crashing down in just 13 seconds when a left hand from Conor McGregor slept him at UFC 194. McGregor seemed poised to reign as the Baddest Motherfucker in the Game for eternity.
But he took everything Nate Diaz had created and worked for. And Diaz was ready to collect.
Taking the fight on short notice like a true BMG, Diaz choked out McGregor in less than 10 minutes at UFC 196 to win the title he created nearly a decade prior to his victory. The victory surprised many, except for Diaz and those who knew about the BMG Title and what it meant to Diaz.
Even though the belt came into existence in 2007, Nate has always believed that his brother Nick is the only true BMG Champion. And, under BMG rules, Nate would be correct. Representing the Nick Diaz Army by winning the BMG Title meant more to Nate than anything else at UFC 196.
McGregor did defeat Diaz in the rematch, but it was an automatic rematch, and McGregor won via majority decision, making it the most hollow victory in BMG Title fight history. The victory was so unimpressive that Diaz took three years off to laugh at Conor and play Street Fighter.
On Saturday night, Diaz finally felt he had a worthy challenger to the BMG Title. He watched Anthony Pettis smoke Stephen Thompson in less than 10 minutes after Tyron Woodley and Darren Till couldn't put Thompson away in a combined 75 minutes. And even though Nate didn't finish Pettis, that's hardly his fault. He was forced to fight a 15-minute fight when all BMG Title fights should be 25-minutes. Truthfully, they should be to the death. And I'm not joking. After three years of video games and smoking, finishing a fellow Bad Motherfucker in less than 15-minutes is a tough ask.
Now, Nate wants to defend his title against Jorge Masvidal, a worthy contender for the BMG Title. Masvidal has been around the game for a long time, is a gangster -- but not a West Coast gangster -- and is coming off the fastest KO in UFC history. It's the perfect fight for the BMG Title, and if it doesn't happen, someone should be fired.
So yes, the Baddest Motherfucker in the Game Championship does exist. It's existed the entirety of Nate Diaz' UFC career and will forever exist in MMA. There's no physical belt because real bad motherfuckers don't need to carry fake championships around to prove that they run the game. You just know.