Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC by way of Getty Pictures
Max Holloway has a brand new belt to place beside his featherweight championship belts. He is the brand new “BMF” champion after beating Justin Gaethje by fifth-round knockout on the principle card of UFC 300 from Las Vegas.
UFC @ufc
THE BADDEST MOTHERF****R 😮💨 @BlessedMMA | #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/WHtaTOmniw
UFC @ufc
Marc Raimondi @marcraimondi
Max Holloway has been in the UFC for 12 years and he’s still putting on performances like this. He just slept one of the top contenders a division above him after being one of the best featherweights ever. This is absurd. What a legend. #UFC300
Patrick Mahomes II @PatrickMahomes
That was crazy!!!!!!!! #UFC300
Karl-Anthony Towns @KarlTowns
OMG 😳 #UFC300
Matt Brown @IamTheImmortal
Could watch this 1000 times. Possibly the most epic 10 seconds in ufc history! https://t.co/jz4WtnWBbW
Holloway got off to a strong start in the first stanza. Blessed attacked with a tactical approach. His use of angles and controlled aggression helped him build an early lead. He punctuated the round with a spinning kick that appeared to have damaged Gaethje’s nose.
Andreas Hale @AndreasHale
Holloway’s landed a spinning back kick that almost stabbed Gaethje’s brain with his nose bone at the end of the 1st round. We could hear the sound of it crack Octagon side. #UFC300
Unfortunately, Holloway’s strong performance was marred by two eye pokes in the second round. The fight was paused twice for accidental eye pokes by Holloway leading to some to criticize the referee for not deducting a point:
E. Spencer Kyte @spencerkyte
We have to take points.
Accidental or not, these are fouls and people have to be penalized, especially after two in the same round, one to each eye. #UFC300
Regardless, the fight pressed on and so did Holloway’s impressive performance. Gaethje had success with leg kicks, but it was Holloway who was impressing his fellow fighters by continuously tagging Gaethje with clean boxing.
The Diamond @DustinPoirier
Man max looks crisp tonight #UFC300
Holloway’s speed was particularly striking. He used it as a deterrent for Gaethje’s aggression as well as a tool to lead off some exchanges.
ESPN MMA @espnmma
Gaethje and Holloway are going all out for the BMF title 🔥 #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/0OjZqv9tI3
But it’s never good to completely count out Gaethje in any fight. The Highlight reminded everyone why he had the BMF belt in the first place, digging deep to score the first knockdown of Holloway’s profession within the fourth spherical.
He landed a proper hook behind Holloway’s ear to arrange an intriguing remaining spherical.
As if Holloway wanted to make a good larger assertion he invited Gaethje to interact in a wild change to finish the struggle and landed an enormous proper hand to finish the struggle with one second left.
Holloway has long been one of the most entertaining fighters in the business. His trademark toughness and high-action fighting style have made him a mainstay on the main event scene for years.
While the BMF belt is mostly a promotional ploy to add some stakes to non-title fights, it’s a worthy title for Holloway. He has already cemented a legacy as one of the greatest featherweights of all-time.
Adding a title moment on the historic UFC 300 card is a nice addition to his resume.
He also has a few other things he’d like to put on it.
“I really want my undisputed (featherweight) title back,” Holloway said, per Zac Pacleb of UFC.com. “Then, perhaps, we are able to come again up. However I imply, if (UFC matchmakers) provide you with a (light-weight) title shot proper after this one, what do you say?”
The win over Gaethje actually offers him choices.
Present light-weight champion Islam Makhachev does not have a title protection and the 2 have traded barbs not too long ago. Nonetheless, Ilia Topuria simply grew to become the featherweight champion, clearing the way in which for him to keep away from one other struggle with Alexander Volkanovski and struggle for that title once more.
Both manner, Holloway is at the moment the “BMF” of the UFC.