A couple of weeks after one of the most significant fight events of the year, UFC 300, fans are still getting over the insane ending to the Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje fight for the BMF title. Sitting down with Joe Rogan on his podcast recently, Max Holloway discussed UFC 300, amongst other things.
Why fighting Justin Gaethje was different
Prepping for a fight against Justin Gaethje required Max Holloway to take a different approach than usual. Mixed Martial Arts is dangerous at the best of times, let alone when you’re fighting somebody who many regard to be one of the most powerful punchers in the UFC. Holloway said that he is wary of the long-term damage caused by concussion and is actively trying to avoid it. This might sound strange to some, given that Holloway’s fighting style is all-out brutality. However, he explained:
”Everybody kept telling me, Max, you get hit so much. In the fight, yeah, you might see me get hit, but I’m not sparring; I’m being smart. This Justin Gaethje one, brother, I was going to the gates of hell; we had to bring back sparring. I told my coaches [that] this is a man that is very dangerous; we need to get into the thick of it and get it done, so we brought back sparring for this one” – Max Holloway told Joe Rogan.
Competing against Justin Gaethje is always going to be a tough night at the office for anybody. Known for his power punches, unpredictability and ferocious leg kicks, it was the latter that surprised Holloway, despite having had an abundance of footage to watch of ”The Highlight” before they faced off in the Octagon. The angles in which Gaethje threw leg kicks surprised the new BMF Champion – his flexibility caused ‘Blessed” issues all night.
The win at UFC 300 made Max Holloway the third-ever BMF title holder and opened up more options than he had before going into the bout. Until Alexander Volkanovski lost the featherweight title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, it was hard to see a route to the title for Holloway. Widely considered the second-best fighter in the featherweight division, he had three losses to the long-reigning ex-champion, Volkanovski. Getting a fourth crack at the Australian was a long shot, so it made sense to go up to 155lb to challenge Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
What’s next for Max Holloway?
Following his successful performance at lightweight, one might assume that Max Holloway would continue fighting in that category. However, with Ilia Topuria now the featherweight champion, Holloway feels a sense of unfinished business in the 145lb division.
”Before this fight (with Gaethje), we only had a couple of options (for his next fight.) The main goal for after this fight was to have all of the options. We go out there, do something spectacular, [then] I’m right up there at the top of the 155ers [but] I still have my spot with the 45ers. Then, after the fight, they announce Conor vs Chandler. Me and Conor have some history, so there’s options.”
Rogan was right when he said that after UFC 300, Max Holloway is ‘the man’ right now and that the next pay-per-view that ”Blessed” is on will be a huge event for the organization. UFC President Dana White has indicated in various interviews over the past few months that the UFC is looking to travel across the world more frequently, given that we are a couple of years removed from having restrictions on movement. Spain has been touted as the destination of Ilia Topuria’s first featherweight title defence, with rumors that the UFC is looking to hold an event at the recently renovated stadium of soccer giants Real Madrid.
Holloway was pessimistic about this being a possibility for him and said he’s heard an event in Spain is some way off and could be up to a year away. The Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL franchise, the Las Vegas Raiders, is where Max wants to fight next. Failing that, the upcoming event at The Sphere, which is touted to be the first-ever combat sports event held at the venue, is also on Holloway’s agenda.
The greatest knockout of all time?
UFC fans have been spoiled in recent years when it comes to witnessing show-stopping knockouts. From Leon Edwards’ head kick, Jorge Masvidal’s flying knee and a roundhouse kick from Joaquin Buckley, many can stake their claim to be in the reckoning to be the greatest-ever stoppage in the UFC. Joe Rogan believed that the fifth-round head kick from Edwards to end Kamaru Usman’s dominant reign as the welterweight champion was the best. That was until the chaos in the final seconds of the BMF title fight at UFC 300, which ended with a devastating right hand inflicted by Holloway on Gaethje. A knockout which Rogan says is now the greatest UFC knockout ever:
”The reason why I say it’s the greatest knockout of all time is because everybody thought that Justin was going to be overpowering you. He was a bigger guy and he had just knocked out Dustin Poirier. You had lost the last fight to Volkanovski and hadn’t been in title contention since then. Here you are fighting this bigger guy and all these people are writing you off. You had to overcome getting knocked down, and then for you to stand, winning four rounds to one, [standing] in the middle of the octagon and pointing at the ground with ten seconds left, and then to knock him out with one second left!”
Do you agree with Joe Rogan? Was Max Holloway’s crazy decision to risk it all in the dying seconds against Justin Gaethje—a fight that he was comfortably winning on the judges’ scorecards and a gamble that will now reap huge rewards—the greatest knockout ever? Let us know what you think.
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