Tag: Max Holloway

Max Holloway Pitches Date For BMF Title Defense vs. Charles Oliveira

BMF titleholder Max Holloway is not only down to run it back with former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, but he even has a date in mind for their second showdown. Talk of “Blessed” and “Do Bronx” sharing the cage a decade on from their featherweight battle has reignited this week after the latter pondered […]

BMF titleholder Max Holloway is not only down to run it back with former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, but he even has a date in mind for their second showdown.

Talk of “Blessed” and “Do Bronx” sharing the cage a decade on from their featherweight battle has reignited this week after the latter pondered his next step in the UFC.

Fresh off a dominant win over Michael Chandler last November, Oliveira attended UFC 311 on Saturday, expecting to potentially have his next opponent decided.

Islam Makhachev ultimately emerged victorious and with the lightweight belt still in his possession, submitting Renato Moicano after he replaced Arman Tsarukyan on just 24 hours’ notice.

With the Armenian seemingly needing to re-earn his shot, Oliveira believes he warrants top contender status. But should the Dagestani champ look to sit out until the promotion’s annual Abu Dhabi PPV in October, the former titleholder wants to compete in the meantime.

And rather than a possible title eliminator rematch with Tsarukyan, “Do Bronx” has another rematch in mind, recently calling for a shot at Holloway’s symbolic BMF belt.

The Hawaiian has now quickly given his approval to that suggestion, even attaching a potential event to the discussion.

“International Fight Week?” Holloway wrote on X.

Holloway last competed at UFC 294 in October, where he failed in his pursuit of another reign at 145 pounds. He was knocked out for the first time by reigning champ Ilia Topuria.

Having previously earned the BMF title and a ranking at lightweight by sleeping Justin Gaethje, it would appear that a return to the higher weight class is likely for the fan favorite.

Rising UFC Featherweight Favors BMF Title Win Over Undisputed: ‘To Be One Of The Baddest Dudes…’

The BMF title has been a divisive subject in MMA but there’s no denying that in the three fights that it has featured in, it has produced some iconic moments and performances. One of the most exciting contenders in the featherweight division recently revealed that he wants a piece of that action over getting his […]

The BMF title has been a divisive subject in MMA but there’s no denying that in the three fights that it has featured in, it has produced some iconic moments and performances. One of the most exciting contenders in the featherweight division recently revealed that he wants a piece of that action over getting his hands on UFC gold.

Steve Garcia has been proving himself to be one of the most dangerous contenders at 145-pounds with his current winning streak. Since a knockout loss to Maheshate Hayisaer at UFC 275 in 2022, he has won five consecutive fights with each victory coming by way of KO/TKO. With 14 of his 17 pro wins coming via this method, the 32-year old certainly qualifies for the category of being a victory or death kind of fighter.

Garcia recently spoke to MMA Junkie ahead of his huge clash with the #15-ranked Edson Barboza on February 22. During the interview, he spoke about his featherweight title aspirations and why he believes that the BMF belt holds more weight to him personally because not every fighter qualifies for it just by securing wins.

“If I would say that there’s a title I prefer to fight for, it would be the BMF title,” Garcia said. “I’ve been able to knock out a lot of these guys. There’s nothing against the undisputed title, but the undisputed title, you could literally win the undisputed title, and you can win on decisions the whole entire time.

“You could win on submissions the whole entire time. You can be great and do knockouts and stuff like that, too, but I think the BMF title, the meaning says it all. To be one of the baddest dudes to step into a cage, throw in my words, chingassos. You’re going for it.”

Having changed hands three times, the BMF title currently belongs to Max Holloway who was stopped by Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC 308. Whilst Garcia doesn’t expect to be put in there with “Blessed” anytime soon, he’s prepared to keep doing what he does best in order to work his way there.

“I would love a fight with Max,” Garcia said. “I’m such a huge fan of him, but my goodness, if you want to watch something that can go off, I think that would be a good fight. I guess I’ve got to keep knocking people out and prove people what I’m able to do to maybe have that opportunity or that shot. I think about the BMF title more than I think about the undisputed title to be honest.”

Robert Whittaker Likens Max Holloway’s UFC 300 KO to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Iconic Stunner

Robert Whittaker Likens Max Holloway’s UFC 300 KO to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Iconic StunnerEchoes of Stone Cold Steve Austin. At UFC 300, Max Holloway delivered a jaw-dropping knockout in the final seconds…

Robert Whittaker Likens Max Holloway’s UFC 300 KO to Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Iconic Stunner

Echoes of Stone Cold Steve Austin. At UFC 300, Max Holloway delivered a jaw-dropping knockout in the final seconds of his fight against Justin Gaethje, cementing his place as one of the sport’s most thrilling fighters. The matchup was a highly anticipated clash between two of the UFC’s most exciting competitors, and it delivered.

Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje

‘Blessed’ Max Holloway is well known for his superb boxing. He entered the octagon as the underdog, especially after his previous loss to Dustin Poirier in the lightweight division. Gaethje’s size and powerful leg strikes had many experts predicting victory for him. However, Holloway’s performance defied expectations. He showcased incredible speed, out-landing Justin Gaethje. Despite taking heavy shots, one of which knocked him down for the first time in his career, he pressed on.

In the fight’s final moments, Holloway mirrored a move he made against Ricardo Lamas years ago, calling Gaethje to the center of the octagon to throw down. With just one second left on the clock, Holloway landed a massive right hand that knocked Gaethje out cold, securing a stunning victory and the BMF title.

Stone Cold Steve Austin

Former UFC champion Robert Whittaker couldn’t help but compare Holloway’s dramatic finish to the iconic Stone Cold Stunner, made famous by WWE legend Stone Cold Steve Austin. Whittaker praised Holloway’s boldness, saying, “Holloway stone-cold him—just stone-colded him. Gaethje was gone.” Whittaker added that the way Holloway walked off after the knockout reminded him of the dramatic flair of a wrestling finisher.

The Stone Cold Stunner became Steve Austin’s signature in the 1990s and remains a beloved part of wrestling history. This is not the first time Robert Whittaker has shown love for Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Former Champion Names Top Five UFC Fights Of 2024, Leaves Out Holloway vs. Gaethje

With 2025 underway, the MMA world is already starting to look ahead to the action that we have to look forward to over the coming 12 months rather than reflecting on the past. 2024 produced some great fights and it’s always fun to look back on them and revisit some of the most exciting moments […]

With 2025 underway, the MMA world is already starting to look ahead to the action that we have to look forward to over the coming 12 months rather than reflecting on the past. 2024 produced some great fights and it’s always fun to look back on them and revisit some of the most exciting moments from throughout the year.

During a recent episode of his podcast, former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling did just that by listing what he thinks were the best fights of the previous year. His picks featured some key differences to the consensus picks that you’re sure to see on most peoples lists from 2024.

For a start, the BMF title fight between Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje from UFC 300 is nowhere to be seen in the five fights that Sterling discussed. This fight has accumulated the majority of the fight of the year awards but some would argue that in order for it to rank highly in this category, it needs to be a back-and-forth affair.

Holloway versus Gaethje was definitely the most memorable fight of the year but “Blessed” was fairly dominant before he capped the performance off with one of the all-time great UFC knockouts. Sterling applied this same logic when choosing highly competitive fights that saw both men have success.

“The one that comes to mind is probably Du Plessis and Strickland and I think the next one after that, not in any order, I mean back and forth, you got Gamrot versus Dan Hooker and then you also have Islam Makhachev versus Dustin Poirier.”

Sterling later pointed out a pair of split decision contests that are absolutely deserving of their recognition even if they don’t have the name value of the three previous selections. Esteban Ribovics’ war with Daniel Zellhuber at UFC 306 was undoubtedly the highlight of the promotion’s debut at the Sphere and though UFC 308 was littered with stand out moments, the battle between Mateusz R?becki and Myktybek Orolbai is the one that “Funkmaster” thinks should take the top spot.

“So I don’t know, I think between all of those, they were all pretty good but the Orolbai one to me, because he was able to, his eye looked like it was swollen shut and they were going to stop the fight. They let him continue even though his eye was a balloon and from there, came back and looked like he was about to get R?becki out of there… great, great fight and I think it showed a lot of heart, a lot of grit and just like the sheer will to win.”

Former Champion Names Top Five UFC Fights Of 2024, Leaves Out Holloway vs. Gaethje

With 2025 underway, the MMA world is already starting to look ahead to the action that we have to look forward to over the coming 12 months rather than reflecting on the past. 2024 produced some great fights and it’s always fun to look back on them and revisit some of the most exciting moments […]

With 2025 underway, the MMA world is already starting to look ahead to the action that we have to look forward to over the coming 12 months rather than reflecting on the past. 2024 produced some great fights and it’s always fun to look back on them and revisit some of the most exciting moments from throughout the year.

During a recent episode of his podcast, former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling did just that by listing what he thinks were the best fights of the previous year. His picks featured some key differences to the consensus picks that you’re sure to see on most peoples lists from 2024.

For a start, the BMF title fight between Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje from UFC 300 is nowhere to be seen in the five fights that Sterling discussed. This fight has accumulated the majority of the fight of the year awards but some would argue that in order for it to rank highly in this category, it needs to be a back-and-forth affair.

Holloway versus Gaethje was definitely the most memorable fight of the year but “Blessed” was fairly dominant before he capped the performance off with one of the all-time great UFC knockouts. Sterling applied this same logic when choosing highly competitive fights that saw both men have success.

“The one that comes to mind is probably Du Plessis and Strickland and I think the next one after that, not in any order, I mean back and forth, you got Gamrot versus Dan Hooker and then you also have Islam Makhachev versus Dustin Poirier.”

Sterling later pointed out a pair of split decision contests that are absolutely deserving of their recognition even if they don’t have the name value of the three previous selections. Esteban Ribovics’ war with Daniel Zellhuber at UFC 306 was undoubtedly the highlight of the promotion’s debut at the Sphere and though UFC 308 was littered with stand out moments, the battle between Mateusz R?becki and Myktybek Orolbai is the one that “Funkmaster” thinks should take the top spot.

“So I don’t know, I think between all of those, they were all pretty good but the Orolbai one to me, because he was able to, his eye looked like it was swollen shut and they were going to stop the fight. They let him continue even though his eye was a balloon and from there, came back and looked like he was about to get R?becki out of there… great, great fight and I think it showed a lot of heart, a lot of grit and just like the sheer will to win.”

Former Champion Names Top Five UFC Fights Of 2024, Leaves Out Holloway vs. Gaethje

With 2025 underway, the MMA world is already starting to look ahead to the action that we have to look forward to over the coming 12 months rather than reflecting on the past. 2024 produced some great fights and it’s always fun to look back on them and revisit some of the most exciting moments […]

With 2025 underway, the MMA world is already starting to look ahead to the action that we have to look forward to over the coming 12 months rather than reflecting on the past. 2024 produced some great fights and it’s always fun to look back on them and revisit some of the most exciting moments from throughout the year.

During a recent episode of his podcast, former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling did just that by listing what he thinks were the best fights of the previous year. His picks featured some key differences to the consensus picks that you’re sure to see on most peoples lists from 2024.

For a start, the BMF title fight between Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje from UFC 300 is nowhere to be seen in the five fights that Sterling discussed. This fight has accumulated the majority of the fight of the year awards but some would argue that in order for it to rank highly in this category, it needs to be a back-and-forth affair.

Holloway versus Gaethje was definitely the most memorable fight of the year but “Blessed” was fairly dominant before he capped the performance off with one of the all-time great UFC knockouts. Sterling applied this same logic when choosing highly competitive fights that saw both men have success.

“The one that comes to mind is probably Du Plessis and Strickland and I think the next one after that, not in any order, I mean back and forth, you got Gamrot versus Dan Hooker and then you also have Islam Makhachev versus Dustin Poirier.”

Sterling later pointed out a pair of split decision contests that are absolutely deserving of their recognition even if they don’t have the name value of the three previous selections. Esteban Ribovics’ war with Daniel Zellhuber at UFC 306 was undoubtedly the highlight of the promotion’s debut at the Sphere and though UFC 308 was littered with stand out moments, the battle between Mateusz R?becki and Myktybek Orolbai is the one that “Funkmaster” thinks should take the top spot.

“So I don’t know, I think between all of those, they were all pretty good but the Orolbai one to me, because he was able to, his eye looked like it was swollen shut and they were going to stop the fight. They let him continue even though his eye was a balloon and from there, came back and looked like he was about to get R?becki out of there… great, great fight and I think it showed a lot of heart, a lot of grit and just like the sheer will to win.”