Max Holloway delivered one of the best knockouts ever seen tonight at UFC 300 when he knocked out Justin Gaethje in the final second of their ‘BMF’ title fight to claim the belt.
Round One:
Body punch from Holloway. Swing and amiss from Gaethje. Tenative low kick from Holloway. A more solid one comes back from Gaethje.
Now a nice calf kick from Holloway. Holloway drives forward and lands a couple of punches. Gaethje lands a calf kick that knocks Holloway off his feet for a moment.
Left hand for Holloway. A couple of punches land for Gaethje. hook from Holloway that seemed to trouble Gaethje for a moment.
Holloway with a combination that finishes with a punch to the body. Gaethje staying patient but landing the occasional kick.
Holloway lands cleanly. Gaethje lands a solid punch too. Gaethje slips on the mat while darting forward, but Holloway doesn’t capitalize on it and they touch gloves.
Spinning back kick from Holloway at the end of the round as Gaethje was ducking down and it seems like it may have broken his nose. He’s got a minute to clear his head and get back to it.
Round Two:
Gaethje said inbetween rounds that his nose is completely blocked, but he’ll have to fight through it.
Hard right hand from Gaethje. calf kick for Holloway and then one to the body. Harder body kick now from Holloway.
Light low kicks from Holloway. Heavy leg kick from Gaethje. Body punch for Holloway. Both exchange but don’t land clean, but Gaethje gets poked in the eye and needs time to recover.
Gaethje soon says he’s ok to continue. Body kick from Gaethje. Solid body punch from Holloway. Now one from Gaethje who is still feeling at his nose from time to time.
Overhand right from Gaethje. Now a leg kick. Low kick from Holloway too now. Right hook from Gaethje in close but then complains of being eyepoked again, this time in the other eye. Replay shows it was a thumb this time.
Thankfully Gaethje is ok to continue again, but he’s now been poked in both eyes and has a broken nose!
Nice body punch from Holloway. Gaethje loads up on a couple of punches but comes up short. Body punch from Holloway and a good low kick from Holloway that partially knocked him off-balance.
Holloway steps into a hard left and right. Low kick for Gaethje again. Body punch for Holloway and then a spinning kick to the body too.
Both throw low kicks at the same time and Holloway lands a punch upstairs to end the round.
Round Three:
Holloway straight back to the body punch. Front kick to the body from Gaethje. Leg kick from Holloway. Hard body kick from Gaethje.
Body kick from Holloway. Low kick for Gaethje. Hard overhand from Gaethje. Left hook for Holloway. Back to the body for him.
Light leg kick from Holloway and a heavy one from Gaethje. Hard left hook from Gaethje. They exchange front kicks to the body.
Nice right hand from Holloway. He goes for the spinning back kick to the body again. Holloway with a nice combo. Gaethje trying to get that back. Low kick from him.
Body punch from Holloway. Now a kick. Holloway’s lead calf is a mess. Spinning back kick yet again lands for Holloway to the midsection.
Leg kick for Gaethje. Front kick to the body for Gaethje. Head kick attempt from the BMF champ. Back to the front kick to the body for him.
Holloway lands a punch that backs Gaethje up for a second then he fires back. Missed head kick from Holloway but lands a punch to the body.
Missed punches from Gaethje but lands a body kick. Gaethje with a front kick to the body. Holloway with a body kick.
Round Four:
Solid front kick to the body for Gaethje. Low kick and then a couple of front kicks to the midsection from Holloway now. They exchanges front kicks.
Step-in body punch from Holloway. Now a body kick too. Nice one-two from Gaethje. Body kick again from Holloway. Hard one-two from Gaethje. He loads up on more but misses.
Nice jab from Gaethje as Holloway lands a grazing punch. Solid punch from Holloway gets a reaction from Gaethje.
Holloway lands nicely again. Another gets through. Kick from Gaethje. One-two from him comes off the guard.
Leg kick for Gaethje. Front kick to the body from Holloway. left hand lands for Gaethje but can’t connect with the punches behind it. He does land a nice leg kick though.
Uppercut from Holloway. Good one-two from Holloway. Gaethje with a low kick. Knee lands to the body from Holloway.
Front kick to the body from Gaethje. Another calf kick from him. Holloway rips to the body and then a punch upstairs.
Right hand from Gaethje behind the ear puts Holloway down momentarily. Back up Gaethje tries to capitalize, but Holloway seems to be coping ok and Gaethje stays calm rather than going into overdrive.
Right hand from Holloway. Grazing punches from Gaethje to end the round.
Round Five:
Gaethje pumps out the jab. Hard body kick from Holloway. Holloway comes close with an uppercut counter.
Body punch from Gaethje and one upstairs is met by a spinning back kick to the body from Holloway. Body kick from him.
Nice right hand from Holloway. leg kick from Gaethje but then a right hand from Holloway has him wobbled. Holloway with a fast combo as Gaethje reels and is backed up. Gaethje bites down on the mouthpiece and throws back hard to keep Holloway at bay.
Right hand lands for Holloway. Spinning back kick to the body lands again for Holloway. High kick attempt from Gaethje comes off the guard. Holloway lands a right hand.
Left gets through for Gaethje. Grazing punches land for Holloway. Stepping right hand for him. Now a nice body-head combo.
left hand for Holloway. Oblique kicks for Holloway. Yet again he lands that spinning back kick to the body.
Gaethje with a leg kick and a jab. Body kick from Holloway. Head kick attempt from Holloway is blocked. High kick attempt from Gaethje and a flying knee from Holloway is blocked.
Holloway points to the center of the Octagon. He wants to throw down!! Holloway starts swinging for the fences with big punches and Gaethje responds in kind. Wild stuff and Holloway rips to the body and then lands a perfect right hook that knocks Gaethje out cold, sending him face first onto the canvas with just one single second of the fight remaining!!!!
Wow, that’s one of the craziest finishes of all-time! Challenging Gaethje to slug it out in the final seconds seemed like a terrible idea, but it paid off in absolutely stunning fashion for the aptly-named ‘Blessed’ – what a fitting way to win the symbolic ‘BMF’ title.
While the finish will overshadow everything else it’s also worth noting that this was a strong performance from Holloway all the way through, proving that he does have what it takes to compete with the cream of the crop at lightweight, though it seems his immediate desire now is to drop back down to 145lbs to fight Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title.
