2. (c) Justin ‘the Highlight’ Gaethje vs Max Holloway
Two all-time violenceweight competitors will face off for the dubious title of BMF in UFC 300’s featured bout. A few short years ago this may have been the best fight of an entire year, but now it is slightly diminished by Max Holloway appearing to be out of his prime. Still, the action potential in this fight is sky high, with both men coming off of a violent decision win followed by a brutal, out-cold knockout.
Both men have skillsets which have presented their opponent with issues in past matchups. The pace and body shots of Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier wore Gaethje down and led to him being finished back in 2017. Of course, Holloway is known for putting a higher pace on foes than anyone else in MMA history, but Gaethje has evolved enough to not be troubled by that. On the other hand, the power and sharp counters of Dustin Poirier led to Max’s legendary thirteen-fight winning streak being snapped in 2019, and Gaethje is similar to the Diamond in that way. Moving up a weight class is always a tough proposition due to the power differential, but this time Holloway seems to have bulked up and his previous experience at lightweight he has to draw from may give him a chance to change his fate this time around.
Both men are extremely hard to finish on the feet, Max has never even been knocked down and Gaethje has not since 2017, so a five-round striking war seems to be in the cards for the fans in Vegas who are there for the BMF title fight, the third fight from the top of the card at UFC 300. Many of those fans probably see this fight as the biggest draw of the card, with two bonafide stars who have an absurd resume of bonuses. ‘The Human Highlight Reel’ has more performance bonuses than UFC fights and some of the most violent fights in MMA history, as does Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway. Gaethje’s ‘Fight of the Year’ efforts against Michael Johnson, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Rafael Fiziev are a must-watch for fans looking to prepare for the event by watching tape, as are Holloway’s against Poirier, Kattar, and Rodriguez.
Fight Rating: 10/10
