Max
Holloway had to remind the doubters at UFC
300 that he was one-half of the BMF title fight for a
reason.
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Based primarily on a previously-unsuccessful venture to 155 pounds
in 2019 and opponent Justin
Gaethje’s well-earned reputation as a wrecking machine,
Holloway entered Saturday’s fight as the underdog. And don’t think
for a second that the former featherweight champion wasn’t well
aware of public perception.
“Brother, I was counted out,” Holloway said at Saturday’s
post-fight press conference. “People were telling me, ‘What are you
doing? Justin’s too big, too strong,’ just a lot of stuff. People
needed to get reminded, and I let them know. I was telling people
all week, ‘I’m him. I’m here,’ and you guys need a reminder.”
What transpired in the Octagon was one of the most complete
performances of Holloway’s career. “Blessed” appeared to break
Gaethje’s nose with a spinning back kick to the face at the end of
Round 1, and he poured it on from there, outstriking his foe by a
181-to-103 count in significant strikes.
While Holloway could have cruised to a decision victory in the
final stanza, he instead pointed to the center of the Octagon,
where he and Gaethje proceeded to slug it out in the waning seconds
of the fight. What resulted during that exchange was an epic
knockout by Holloway that will go down as an all-time moment in UFC
history.
“If that’s not a BMF moment, I don’t know what is,” Holloway said.
“If the cards were flipped and Justin felt like he was up, I know
he would give me that 10-second shot. He’s a bad man, and I don’t
know if I’m ever gonna share the Octagon with him again. He’s a
legend.
“This is the type of stuff you do to etch your name in the history
books. I’m just happy that I was the one landing. He missed some
shots, and I was getting hurt by the wind of his shots. That’s how
hard he hits.”
Holloway had nothing but praise for Gaethje, who appeared to be in
line for a lightweight title shot after knocking out Dustin
Poirier last July. Instead, he accepted a fan-friendly matchup
against Holloway at UFC 300.
“He had everything to lose,” Holloway said. “He still took this
fight, UFC 300, the biggest fight card for the next decade
probably. To go out there and do what we did, you know, we both got
paid, so I’m happy for that. Even the fans, you know, pushing him
for this fight, Justin accepting the fight, getting my flower
shorts, crazy championship-like walk. It was just an amazing
night.”
With a high-profile victory on a massive stage, Holloway has
options in two weight classes, which was part of the incentive for
him to take a fight many expected him to lose.
“I’ve got options, it feels great,” he said. “Dana’s happy, [UFC
COO Hunter Campell is] happy, [UFC matchmaker] Sean Shelby’s happy.
We’re going to sit down with the team and figure it out. I saw they
just announced the [lightweight title fight], so it looks like
[Islam
Makhachev is] finally defending against a ‘55er, which is good
on him.
“Like I said, there’s [featherweight champ Ilia
Topuria]. He’s doing everything in his will to try to escape
the bull in the pen, so I’m here.”