Max Holloway won the “BMF” title at UFC 300 on Saturday, earning one of the most violent knockout losses in UFC history.
In the final seconds of the fight, Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) pointed to the center and swung toward a submissive Justin Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC). The lightweight “BMF” title bout was part of the main card of UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In round one, both fighters were perhaps more cautious than expected. Holloway showed calculated patience and a beautiful points fight, but Gaethje came back with some hard boxing of his own.
The decisive moment occurred at the end of the first round. As the horn blared, Holloway landed a jumping back kick. The heel dug into Gaethje's nose and Gaethje held him in the face as he backed into the corner. The damage was obvious as the cutman was tending to him between rounds.
Things got even worse for Gaethje in round two. As if not being able to breathe wasn't bad enough, Holloway poked Gaethje twice, once in each eye. Referee Mark Goddard called timeouts for each foul, but no points were scored.
In round three, Holloway landed some hard shots. Gaethje struggled to find a rhythm. Holloway clearly had the advantage in terms of speed.
The fourth round broke the monotony of Holloway's hitting show and things got a little more interesting. Gaethje landed a right hand that took Holloway down. This was the first knockdown scored against Holloway in his career.
Before the fifth round, coach Trevor Whitman tried to encourage fighter Gaethje, calling for aggression throughout the final five minutes.
But Holloway flipped the script and surprised Gaethje with his violent, speed-changing combinations. Holloway drilled him with two punches to the body, but Gaethje remained upright and continued to swing at Holloway.
In the final seconds, Holloway rewinded time to his famous swing-for-the-fences moment with Ricardo Lamas in 2016, only this time a different ending was in store. Holloway stunned Gaethje with a powerful overhand right.
Holloway, 32, extends his winning streak to three, including victories over Arnold Allen and Chan Sung-jeong.
Gaethje, 35, is on a two-fight winning streak. He started winning streaks over Rafael Fiziev and Poirier.
Saturday's “BMF” title match was the third in promotion history. The first fight was at UFC 244 in November 2019, when Jorge Masvidal defeated Nate Diaz. The title became vacant after Masvidal retired from MMA, and was claimed by Justin Gaethje when he knocked out Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 in July 2023.
The latest results for UFC 300 include:
- Max Holloway def. Justin Gaethje wins by knockout (punches) – Round 4:59 – Wins “BMF” Title
- Arman Tsarukyan def. Charles Oliveira split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Bo Nickal def. Cody Brundage submission (rear naked choke) – Round 2, 3:38
- Jiri Prochaska def. Aleksandar Rakić TKO (Strike) – Round 2, 3:17
- Aljamain Sterling def. Calvin Kattar (unanimous decision) (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Kayla Harrison def. Holly Holm via submission (rear naked choke) – Round 2, 1:47
- Diego Lopez def. Sodiq Yusaf TKO (Strike) – Round 1, 1:29
- Renato Moicano def. Jalin Turner TKO (Strike) – Round 2, 4:11
- Jessica Andrade def. Marina Rodriguez, split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Bobby Greene def. Jim Miller by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 29-26)
- Deiveson Figueiredo def. Cody Garbrandt (via submission) (rear naked choke) – Round 2, 4:02
For more information on this card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC 300 event hub.
