Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje left it all in the Octagon in a BMF battle for the ages on Saturday night.
Two of the UFC’s wildest and most heavy-handed strikers went head-to-head in the fan-favourite match-up at UFC 300 which saw ‘Blessed’ secure an iconic KO with one-second to spare.
The Hawaiian put on a masterclass and was seconds away from a clear unanimous decision victory when he pointed to the canvas and invited Gaethje to trade blows in the centre of the cage.
With the clock at 4:59 in the fifth round, Holloway connected with a devastating right hand to leave his opponent out cold and face down on the canvas.
Despite the bruising back-and-forth, it was all love between the Baddest Motherf***ers’ after the fight.
Heartwarming footage showed the pair embracing backstage at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and displaying their mutual admiration.
“Why the f*** you hit so hard?” Holloway joked to Gaethje.
“My leg is sore as s***.”
After hugging it out, ‘The Highlight’ walked off with a wry smile while repeating the word ‘you’ as if to show his appreciation for the new BMF.
The former interim lightweight champion was on the receiving end of a clear Knockout of the Year contender that left him momentarily unconscious on the mat.
After losing his BMF status, Gaethje updated fans to assure them he was doing OK after the scary KO.
“I’m in great spirits with my family,” Gaethje posted to social media.
“Thanks for all the love. What a sport.”
One fan responded: “You are an absolute savage!
“Much love and respect to you Justin. You went out there to commit some violence and put forth some serious effort making it a great fight,” said another.
“It was awesome to see 2 warriors in the octagon tonight,” added a third.
“Thank you for the chance to witness this history. Legend!” posted another.
Gaethje also took the opportunity to congratulate former featherweight king Holloway for his virtuoso performance.
“@BlessedMMA you’re a dog. Congrats. Well deserved double bonus #ufc300,” he wrote.
Dana White upped the bonus money from $50,000 to $300,000 ahead of UFC 300 – and in his post-fight interview Holloway called for the biggest bonus of all time.
“I want $600,000,” he said. “That was Fight of the Night.”
Holloway ultimately got what he demanded after knocking out Gaethje, earning ‘Fight of the Night’ as well as ‘Performance of the Night’ alongside Jiri Prochazka.
Holloway was moving up a weight class to challenge for Gaethje’s BMF belt, who won the strap last July with a stunning head-kick KO against Dustin Poirier.
It was only the second lightweight bout of Holloway’s career but it was the Hawaiian who looked more at home in the fight against perennial 155 lbs contender Gaethje.
Holloway out-struck his opponent in every round and put on a boxing clinic over 24m and 59s of action.
He also appeared to break Gaethje’s nose at the end of the first round with a stunning spinning-kick.
In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Holloway jumped on the mic to call for a title fight with both 145 lbs champion Ilia Topuria and current lightweight champ Islam Makhachev.
“I’m him, guys! I’m him!” Holloway said in front of Topuria who was sitting cageside.
“El Matador, he is running away from the bull and running for his life. Time to sign the contract. Spain, Hawaii, whatever.
“Even Islam,” Holloway went on. “Islam is famous for defending against 45ers, right? I’m him. I’m right here.
“Any weight, I’m a gladiator. I don’t care. Whoever’s next, sign on the dotted line, let’s get it.”
Topuria seemingly agreed to the fight and told reporters his next opponent would indeed be Holloway.
“We clearly have the next fight. It’s going to be Max Holloway, ” the Georgian-Spaniard said.
“We talked about this in the meeting, nothing concrete, but if he was victorious he was going to be the next one.”
‘El Matador’ has called on the UFC for his first featherweight title defense to be in Madrid, Spain, sometime this year, and it seems like Holloway will be the one to challenge him.
News Summary:
- Heartwarming footage shows Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje embrace backstage as ‘The Highlight’ speaks out on devastating UFC 300 KO
- Check all news and articles from the latest Football updates.