Max Holloway had to remind skeptics at UFC 300 that there’s a reason he’s in half of the BMF title fights.
Holloway enters Saturday’s fight as the underdog, largely due to his failed attempt at 155 pounds in 2019, but with a reputation as a destruction machine for opponent Justin Gaethje. And don’t think for a second that the former featherweight champion wasn’t very aware of public perception.
“Brother, I was counted out,” Holloway said in Saturday’s postgame press conference. “People say to me, ‘What are you doing? Justin’s too big, he’s too strong’ and all that stuff. I needed to remind people, so I let them know. kept telling people “I am he” all week. I want to remind everyone, ‘I’m here.’ ”
What happened 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 the first round, but from there he continued to land kicks and outscored his opponent in significant strikes, 181 to 103.
Holloway could have fought his way to a decision victory in the final round, but instead pointed to the center of the Octagon, where he and Gaethje slugged it out with just seconds left in the bout. The result of that exchange was a spectacular knockout by Holloway that will go down as a memorable moment in UFC history.
“If that’s not a BMF moment, I don’t know what is,” Holloway said. “If the card is flipped and Justin feels good, he’ll give me a 10-second chance. He’s a bad guy, and I don’t know if I’ll ever share the Octagon with him again. No. He’s a legend.
“This is the kind of thing I’m doing to carve my name in history. I’m just glad I landed. He missed some shots and I got hurt by the wind of his shot. That’s how hard he hits.”
Holloway had nothing but praise for Gaethje, who appeared to have a shot at the lightweight title after knocking out Dustin Poirier last July. Instead, he accepted a fan-friendly matchup with Holloway at UFC 300.
“He had nothing to lose,” Holloway said. “He still took on a fight called UFC 300, which is probably the biggest fight card of the next 10 years. We both got paid to go out there and do what we did, so , I’m happy about that. Even the fans pushed him for this match, and Justin accepted the match, got the floral pants, and just had a crazy championship-like night. was.”
The high-profile win on the big stage gave Holloway two weight class options and was part of his motivation to take a fight that many expected him to lose.
“I have options. It feels great,” he said. “My husband is happy, [UFC
COO Hunter Campell is] Happy, [UFC matchmaker] Sean Shelby is happy. We will discuss it with our team and resolve it.I saw they just announced [lightweight title fight],It will be as follows
[Islam
Makhachev is] He finally got to defend against a ’55er, which was good for him.
“As I said earlier, [featherweight champ Ilia
Topuria]. I’m here because he’s trying his best to escape the bull in the cage. ”
