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Justin Gaethje reveals one thing he would have done differently in his UFC 300 fight against Max Holloway

MixCollage 17 Jul 2024 01 20 PM 2415 Looking back, Justin Gaethje knows what he would have done differently in his critically acclaimed BMF title clash against…

Looking back, Justin Gaethje knows what he would have done differently in his critically acclaimed BMF title clash against Max Holloway.

Nine months removed from his sensational second-round KO of Dustin Poirier to claim the bragging rights belt, Gaethje returned to the Octagon at UFC 300 for a BMF clash with former featherweight world champion Max Holloway. In the final 10 seconds of their scrap, ‘Blessed’ called for both men to stand in the center of the cage and throw hands until the final horn.

Gaethje was more than happy to oblige.

In one of the most chaotic finishes in UFC history, Holloway landed a big right hand with one tick left on the clock, sending Gaethje crashing to the canvas and bringing an end to their history-making fight.

Justin Gaethje reflects on his loss to ‘blessed’

Looking back on the bout during an appearance on The Anik & Florian Podcast, Justin Gaethje offered some insight into what he would have done differently if he could turn back the clock and do it all over again.

“I didn’t feel exhausted in there, which I would assume would’ve been the repercussion of breaking your nose is not being able to use it,” Gaethje said.

“My gameplan wasn’t necessarily the correct gameplan, but that’s only something you can [worry about] after the fact. [Max Holloway] was very precise, perfect that night. I think I would’ve pressured more, I would’ve tried to move forward and fight. I thought he would come to me, and then when he did come, it was few and far between, where it was so unpredictable and fast that I didn’t see it or find it.“

“If I would have been inside and like I did in the fourth round, similar to the fourth round, only round that I for sure think I won, I moved forward. I was trying to step on his feet. I think that was the way that I had to fight that fight. At least from the second round on.”

What comes next for Justin Gaethje remains to be seen, but Holloway appears primed to fight for another belt when he steps back inside the Octagon later this year.

“I think he fought an amazing fight,” Gaethje added. “He was very precise and perfect that night—a very tough Max Holloway to beat.”

UFC star Dustin Poirier plays up trilogy fight with Justin Gaethje: ‘I don’t like to leave things unsettled’

Amid continued links to a retirement from mixed martial arts, former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has welcomed the…

Amid continued links to a retirement from mixed martial arts, former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has welcomed the chance to take on fellow former interim gold holder, Justin Gaethje in a trilogy rubber match – claiming the pairing is still “unsettled” between the duo.

Poirier, the current number four ranked divisional contender, most recently headlined UFC 302 last month in New Jersey, taking on pound-for-pound number one, Islam Makhachev – suffering a stunning fifth round D’Arce choke submission loss in his failed bid to snatch the undisputed lightweight crown.

Dustin Poirier still unclear on fighting future I'm still unsure about what's next

As for Gaethje, the former interim lightweight champion and symbolic BMF titleholder, featured at UFC 300 earlier this year against common-foe, Max Holloway, dropping the latter of those crowns with a devastating fifth round, buzzer-beating KO loss to the Hawaiian.

Dustin Poirier weighs up trilogy fight with Justin Gaethje

And remaining non-committal on his fighting future off the back of his loss to Makhachev, Poirier was asked about the chances of him sharing the Octagon with Arizona veteran, Gaethje in the future, Poirier admitted that while he’s still yet to decide on his future – he would hate to leave the bout “unsettled”.

“You know, I don’t like to leave things unsettled,” Dustin Poirier told ESPN MMA. “We are 1-1, with one KO apiece. So, the rubber match? I don’t know, we gotta see.”

Returning to training six weeks after his stunning knockout loss to common-opponent, Holloway, the above-mentioned, Gaethje first fought Poirier on home soil back in 2018, suffering a fourth round TKO defeat.

Justin Gaethje plans six month hiatus from the UFC after KO loss to Max Holloway I want to take care of myself — Mandatory Credit: Zuffa LLC

However, in July of last year, Poirier met Gaethje in a rematch for the symbolic BMF title, dropping an hellacious second round high-kick KO in the pair’s second bout under the banner of the promotion.

Would you like to see Dustin Poirier return in a rubber match with Justin Gaethje?

UFC star Dustin Poirier plays up trilogy fight with Justin Gaethje: ‘I don’t like to leave things unsettled’

Amid continued links to a retirement from mixed martial arts, former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier has welcomed the…

Dustin Poirier weighs up trilogy fight with Justin Gaethje

“You know, I don’t like to leave things unsettled,” Dustin Poirier told ESPN MMA. “We are 1-1, with one KO apiece. So, the rubber match? I don’t know, we gotta see.”

Would you like to see Dustin Poirier return in a rubber match with Justin Gaethje?

Video – Justin Gaethje returns to the gym 6 weeks after his brutal knockout loss to Max Holloway

Six weeks removed from his brutal knockout loss at UFC 300, Justin Gaethje is already back in the gym….

Six weeks removed from his brutal knockout loss at UFC 300, Justin Gaethje is already back in the gym.

After claiming the BMF title with a sensational second-round head-kick KO against Dustin Poirier last summer, ‘The Highlight’ became the first man to defend the bragging rights belt. Featuring at the promotion’s landmark event on April 13, Gaethje stepped inside the Octagon with former featherweight champion Max Holloway and delivered an instant classic.

Unfortunately, things would not go Gaethje’s way as the former interim titleholder suffered a brutal buzzer-beating knockout, ending his short run with the BMF belt and effectively taking him out of the lightweight title picture for the time being.

Less than two months removed from the four-minute and 49-second war, Justin Gaethje is already trying to get back into the swing of things, courtesy of a video clip shared on the fan favorites’ Instagram.

“Trying to get back in the routine, ” he wrote.

What’s next for Justin Gaethje?

We’re still a long way off from seeing Justin Gaethje back inside the Octagon as he previously told MMA Hangout that he wanted to take at least six months off before jumping back into full-on training.

“Metaphorically, I could be ready tomorrow, but physically, I do want to take care of myself,” Gaethje said. “I do think that repeated concussions, with me going to sleep like that, me receiving that shot, it would be foolish for me to jump back into training anytime before 180 days.

“I could do cardio, I can stay in shape, that’s what I want to try and do — especially [with] the older I get, the harder it is to get back to the best shape of my life, so I want to stay active. Obviously, the physical contact is going to be limited for quite some time, just because I want to preserve myself. … I think six months, at least, before I get back to taking shots. But that doesn’t say that I won’t be training the whole time” (h/t MMA Fighting).

Who he faces in his inevitable return will ultimately come down to how things play out at the top of the division over the next several months.

On Saturday, June 1, reigning lightweight world champion Islam Makhachev is scheduled to defend his title against two-time Gaethje opponent Dustin Poirier in the UFC 302 headliner. It will likely be Poirier’s final shot at gold as ‘The Diamond’ has already been talking about retirement following the fight — win or lose.

Should Makhachev survive ‘The Diamond,’ he’ll likely find himself paired up with No. 1 ranked contender Arman Tsarukyan this October when the UFC makes its annual fall pit stop in Abu Dhabi.

How those two fights shake out will determine what comes next for Gaethje and ‘The Highlight’ guns for one more shot at the 155-pound crown before laying down his own gloves.

Conor McGregor hopes to see Justin Gaethje drop the gloves and join BKFC: ‘That’s really, really exciting’

Conor McGregor would love to see Justin Gaethje trade in his four-ounce gloves for a pair of hand wraps….

Conor McGregor would love to see Justin Gaethje trade in his four-ounce gloves for a pair of hand wraps.

In April, the Irish megastar shocked everyone when he revealed that he was now a part owner of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, one of the fastest-growing brands in all of combat sports. Bringing his name to the bustling world of bare knuckle boxing, there’s no telling what could happen or who could show up inside the squared circle.

During a recent interview with TheMACLife ahead of his highly anticipated return to the Octagon at UFC 303 on June 29, the former two-division champion suggested that the BKFC could give new life to MMA fighters looking for a change of pace.

Conor McGregor would rather see fighters go to BKFC than another MMA promotion

During the conversation, ‘Mystic Mac’ suggested that a move from the cage to the ring for former BMF titleholder Justin Gaethje would be a very exciting sight to see.

“We’ve seen former UFC champions or UFC veterans move to other mixed martial arts promotions,” McGregor said. “We’ve seen them fight MMA all their career and now they still fight MMA. It doesn’t pop for me. Now let’s take Justin Gaethje, who is a UFC veteran, former BMF holder, interim belt holder — take him, let’s put him in bare knuckle. That’s exciting. That’s really, really exciting.

“Now let’s take him and put him in another MMA organization, not so [exciting].”

From the start, the BKFC has bolstered its name on the back of current and former MMA stars including Luke Rockhold, Chad Mendes, Eddie Alvarez, Thiago Alves, Michael ‘Venom’ Page, and, of course, its biggest name of all, ‘Platinum’ Mike Perry.

It looks as though another former UFC champion could be toeing the line before long.

Hall of Famer ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler was recently spotted alongside BKFC founder and president David Feldman, leading to immediate speculation that the ex-welterweight champion could be knuckling up against the likes of Mike Perry before long.

Robbie Lawler with BKFC president David Feldman

Justin Gaethje ruled from future Islam Makhachev fight after UFC 300 loss: ‘He was the biggest threat to us’

Following his spectacular defeat to Max Holloway at UFC 300 earlier this month, any chances that Justin Gaethje will…

Following his spectacular defeat to Max Holloway at UFC 300 earlier this month, any chances that Justin Gaethje will fight Islam Makhachev for the lightweight crown in the future have been axed by head coach, Javier Mendez, who admitted the former was likely the biggest “threat” to the Russian’s title reign.

Gaethje, a former interim lightweight champion, featured as the first of three ‘championship’ fights at UFC 300 earlier this month, taking on former featherweight kingpin, Holloway in the pair’s symbolic BMF title fight.

Max Holloway shows off dama — Mandatory Credit: Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

And en route to a comfortable decision loss to the Hawaiian, Gaethje was flattened with a single second remaining in the fifth round of their UFC 300 clash, resulting in a harrowing buzzer-beating knockout defeat.

Islam Makhachev calls for division move after UFC 302 I've already beat everyone at lightweight — Mandatory Credit: Giuseppe Cacece

As for Makhachev, the current pound-for-pound number one fighter on the promotion’s books, is slated to headline UFC 302 in June in New Jersey, taking on soon-to-be common-foe, Dustin Poirier in an undisputed lightweight title fight.

Justin Gaethje ruled from title fight with Islam Makhachev

And off the back of his defeat, Gaethje – who plans an extended break away from active competition, has been ruled from a fight with Makhachev in the future, by the Russian’s head coach – who admitted the Arizona native was likely going to pose the biggest difficulty to the reign of the American Kickboxing Academy product.

Justin Gaethje claims he's not done after UFC 300 loss to Max Holloway I will fight in the future

“Yeah to me, the guy – out of all the guys that I thought was stylistically very dangerous, out of all of them, I thought it was Justin Gaethje,” Javier Mendez said on his podcast. “Stylistically, because of his wrestling pedigree, you know. And his striking is really good, [he’s] strong.”

“It’s all apples and oranges, right,” Mendez explained. “Everybody brings a different skillset, so I thought he was the biggest threat for us. And now, he’s probably never going to be in the picture for us, going forward. No need to talk about him as a threat because he’s never going to be there anymore, I don’t think.”

Who would have won in a lightweight title fight: Islam Makhachev or Justin Gaethje?