Max Holloway brands BMF championship fight with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 ‘The people’s main event’

Max Holloway brands BMF title fight with Justin Gaethje people's main event at UFC 300Former undisputed featherweight champion, Max Holloway claims that no matter the placement of his BMF title clash with Justin…

Max Holloway brands BMF title fight with Justin Gaethje people's main event at UFC 300

Former undisputed featherweight champion, Max Holloway claims that no matter the placement of his BMF title clash with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 in April – their bout will most definitely viewed as the ‘People’s main event’. 

Holloway, the current number one featherweight champion, is slated to make his sophomore outing at the lightweight limit at UFC 300, competing for the symbolic BMF championship in a much-anticipated showdown with former interim lightweight best, Gaethje.

Minting himself as the symbolic gold holder at UFC 291 back in July, Gaethje rallied to stop common-foe, Dustin Poirier with a spectacular second round high-kick knockout win in Salt Lake City. 

Max Holloway talks BMF showdown with Justin Gaethje

And calling his shot for a challenge at BMF spoils in April, Hawaiian fan-favorite, Holloway claims his bout with fellow favorite, Gaethje will take main event honors – at least in the eyes of the fans.

“Whenever myself or (Justin) Gaethje’s on the card, I think most of the time it’s the people’s main event,” Max Holloway told MMA Fighting during a recent interview. “They know what they get. When you see us on the card, you know what you’re going to get. You’re going to get the bang for your buck.” 

“With everybody being booked at our different weight classes, it only made sense to have a BMF fight and be here and putting us on a huge card,” Max Holloway explained. “I’m excited to share the Octagon with a guy like Gaethje. He’s definitely going to be a Hall of Famer. It’s what BMF’s do. They take fights, they fight each other, and they show the world what’s up.” 

In the midst of a two-fight winning run, Holloway most recently turned in a blistering knockout win over former title challenger, Chan Sung Jung in the main event of UFC Fight Night Singapore back in August. The win came off the back of a decision win over English contender, Arnold Allen in another main event clash. 

Who wins at UFC 300 in April: Justin Gaethje or Max Holloway?

Max Holloway backed to land shock win over Justin Gaethje in BMF title clash at UFC 300: ‘He’s a big guy’

Max Holloway backed to win BMF title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 he's a big guyFormer undisputed featherweight champion, Max Holloway has received the backing of former two-time foe, Dustin Poirier to land what…

Max Holloway backed to win BMF title against Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 he's a big guy

Former undisputed featherweight champion, Max Holloway has received the backing of former two-time foe, Dustin Poirier to land what would come as a shocking win over soon-to-be common-opponent, Justin Gaethje in the pair’s BMF title fight at UFC 300 – with Poirier touting the Hawaiian’s apparent overlooked stature. 

Holloway, a former undisputed featherweight champion, is slated to make his return to the lightweight limit at UFC 300 in a symbolic BMF title fight with newly-minted champion and former interim titleholder, Gaethje. 

Winning the symbolic crown back in July of last year at UFC 291, Gaethje stopped the aforenoted, Poirier with a stunning second round high-kick KO – avenging his knockout loss to the Lafayette native in the pair’s rematch.

Max Holloway back to topple Justin Gaethje at UFC 300

And yet to feature at the lightweight limit since his second career loss to Poirier in the pair’s interim lightweight championship fight back in 2019, Holloway has been backed by the former to beat Gaethje at UFC 300 in April – with Poirier highlighting the apparent size of Max Holloway compared to Justin Gaethje.

“I respect both guys,” Dustin Poirier told MMA Fighting. “Both guys are great fighters. I think I would put money on Max (Holloway), just him being the dog. I see a lot of people online saying that, ‘Max is going to be undersized.’ Max is a big guy.”

“Him and (Justin) Gaethje probably walk around at the same weight,” Poirier explained. “Max isn’t a small guy. And the striking, the time of Max, his range, his durability – it’s a coin toss. But if I was betting, I would bet [on] Max.”

Himself booked for his own return to the Octagon – finally, Poirier takes on surging French contender, Benoit Saint-Denis in a five round co-main event bout at UFC 299 in March in Miami, Florida. 

Who wins at UFC 300 in April: Justin Gaethje or Max Holloway?

Ranking the Best Fights from UFC 299 and 300

UFC 300 is all anybody can talk about these days, and it makes sense. UFC 100 and 200 were two of the biggest events in the promotion’s history, featuring…

UFC 300 is all anybody can talk about these days, and it makes sense. UFC 100 and 200 were two of the biggest events in the promotion’s history, featuring…

Justin Gaethje will put the beating of a lifetime on Max Holloway at UFC 300: ‘I promise you that’

Justin Gaethje and Max HollowayJustin Gaethje is ready to break the unbreakable Max Holloway. On Saturday, April 13, ‘The Highlight’ will put his…

Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway

Justin Gaethje is ready to break the unbreakable Max Holloway.

On Saturday, April 13, ‘The Highlight’ will put his BMF title on the line against the former featherweight world champion in one of the most exciting fights announced for UFC 300. Holloway goes into the bout having gone toe-to-toe with some of the biggest names in the game, including Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor, Charles Oliveira, Jose Aldo, and Alexander Volkanovski on three separate occasions.

And not once in his 12 years competing inside the Octagon has ‘Blessed’ ever been knocked out. That’s a streak Justin Gaethje has every intention of breaking when the two meet at what is shaping up to be the biggest event in UFC history.

“I have 25 wins and 20 knockouts, I’m pretty proud of that,” Gaethje told ESPN. “That’s one thing I tried to sustain throughout my career, purposefully. So yeah, that’s something that I’m shooting for. Same thing with Tony Ferguson. Nobody had ever finished him. I didn’t knock him out in a traditional way, but I certainly created enough damage for that fight to be rightfully stopped.

“I would rather not get there [at UFC 300], I promise you that. This could be a war, a battle of attrition. If I can’t find him, then I can’t hurt him. He never stops. He’s constantly creating angles and constantly creating pressure and it could be a tough fight” (h/t MMA Mania).

Gaethje’s shellacking of ‘El Cucuy’ at UFC 249 has had a lasting effect on Tony Ferguson. The former interim lightweight titleholder has not won a single fight since, amassing a near-record-breaking seven-fight losing streak.

Holloway will be moving up to lightweight for his BMF clash with Gaethje for the first time since suffering a decision defeat against Dustin Poirier at UFC 236 in 2019. ‘Blessed’ scored a third-round KO against The Korean Zombie in his last outing this past August.

Justin Gaethje laments missed title fight with UFC rival Islam Makhachev: ‘I don’t know what’s going on’

Justin GaethjeA fight with Max Holloway was not Justin Gaethje’s first choice for his return to the Octagon at UFC…

Justin Gaethje

A fight with Max Holloway was not Justin Gaethje’s first choice for his return to the Octagon at UFC 300.

Earlier this month, UFC CEO Dana White revealed that ‘The Highlight’ would put his BMF title on the line against the former featherweight champion. The announcement came with a lot of fanfare, but it admittedly left Gaethje a little disappointed considering everyone, himself included, believed his next fight would be for lightweight gold.

“It’s always funny how it works out,” Gaethje said in an interview with Kevin Iole. “You always think it’s going to go one way, and you can never guess what’s going to happen with the UFC. Once the Oliveira and Tsarukyan fight got announced, I was really confident that I was going to get the Makhachev fight, because I figured, obviously, there is nobody else to fight him. … I don’t know what’s going on. Some injury or something, but he’s not going to fight till June or July, I guess.

“I was under the impression that if not for sure a title eliminator, that the fight with Dustin Poirier was as much a title eliminator as this Tsarukyan and Oliveira fight is. Now, me fighting on the same card as those guys, I’m going to be obviously above them, all four of us – you know, me, Max, Tsaruykan, Oliveira, we all got a chance to stand out” (h/t MMA Junkie).

Though he’s fighting someone outside of the lightweight division, a loss for Gaethje could potentially derail his claim as the next man in line for Islam Makhachev. But instead of looking at it as a negative, ‘The Highlight’ is embracing the opportunity to stand out among some of the best fighters on the planet and re-solidifying his status as the most deserving contender.

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Gaethje continued. “I think it’s second-best obviously if they lined me up with Makhachev – that’s the best-case scenario. Second best scenario is I get to fight for it, and that’s the scenario I’m in. I get to go in there, I get to stand out. There’s going to be two contenders coming out that night. So, we’ll see what happens after that.”

Justin Gaethje Talked His Fight with Max Holloway ‘Into Existence’

Justin Gaethje has nothing, but respect for Max Holloway. It is for that reason that he never wanted to find himself in a position where he had to repeatedly punch ‘Blessed’ in the face. Unfortunately, the fight game can be cruel like that sometimes.

Well, unless you’re Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili. Then you just switch divisions.

“I kind of talked this into existence on accident,” Gaethje said. “I said, ‘I didn’t want to punch Max Holloway, but he’s also a guy that could fight for a BMF belt.’ That turns out into going to be having to punch Max Holloway. It’s the name of the game, and I am the best in the world at creating damage.

“The last two fights, I have been very tactical and very, very, very methodical in my approach. I think that obviously I’m going to continue to do that, and if I can do that, then it’s going to be very hard for Max to overwhelm me and put me in positions where I shouldn’t be.”

Longtime commentator Joe Rogan hates one of UFC 300’s most exciting fights

Joe Rogan on UFC 300 fightWhile the main event remains a mystery, UFC 300 is shaping up to be the biggest event in the…

Joe Rogan on UFC 300 fight

While the main event remains a mystery, UFC 300 is shaping up to be the biggest event in the promotion’s 30+ year history.

UFC CEO Dana White has been drip-feeding fans over the last several weeks, revealing one fight at a time for the company’s next landmark event on April 13. Of the 10 bouts announced, the one that seems to have fans the most excited — main event withstanding — is the BMF title clash between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway. However, not everyone is in love with the matchmaking.

During a recent episode of his popular podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, the longtime UFC commentator was admittedly blown away by the announcement but fears that Holloway, a former featherweight world champion, may be too small to compete with the 155’ers.

“You know what I hate [about the fight],” Rogan said. Max is a great 45-pounder, Dustin Poirier beat him up at 55lbs. I think those guys are a little bit too big for him.”

Holloway made a very brief move to lightweight in 2019 for a fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 236. ‘Blessed’ lost a lopsided unanimous decision before promptly returning to 145.

joe Rogan Believes Max Holloway Should Be Next in line for featherweight title fight

Joe Rogan also believes that Holloway is the next man in line for a featherweight title opportunity, but a loss to Gaethje at UFC 300 could potentially hurt his momentum.

“Also, Max is right there in the hunt for the title,” Rogan added. “[When] Volkanovski gets done with Topuria, Max is a likely next fight. It’s 100 percent there.”

Holloway has already stepped inside the Octagon with Alexander Volkanovski on three separate occasions, losing via decision each time. If Ilia Topuria manages to score an upset against ‘The Great’ at UFC 298 in February, there’s a good chance ‘Blessed’ will be the first to challenge the new champ. If Volkanovski retains, it’s hard to imagine the promotion booking a fourth fight between the two, or fans willingly paying for it.