UFC 300, The Morning After: Max Holloway points to the floor, knocks out Justin Gaethje, rewrites UFC legacy

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Max Holloway entered the UFC 300 cage last night (Sat. April 13, 2024) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, as a man with a defined legacy.

Holloway won his Featherweight title at just 25 years of age. Already an interim title holder, Holloway stepped to the greatest Featherweight of all time, Jose Aldo, and he utterly beat his butt twice. Consecutive knockout losses definitively ended Aldo’s time at the top, and the Hawaiian scored two more title defenses before meeting rising contender, Alexander Volkanovski.

Their trilogy is well-documented.

Volkanovski came into the first fight with a perfect gameplan, destabilizing Holloway’s boxing with his low kicks then walking him into counters. Holloway stormed back and very arguably took the second fight, knocking down the Australian twice in 25 minutes. Debate the decision as much as you’d like, but Volkanovski shut the door on the whole conversation by beating the bejeezus out of Holloway in the (unofficial) rubber match.

Just like that, Holloway’s legacy was written and filed away. No longer was he the young upstart champion who quickly racked up multiple title defenses. Now, he was the high point of Volkanovski’s Hall of Fame-worthy career, forced into second place and acting as a filter for would-be Featherweight title contenders.

Still beloved by the fan base, certainly, but nobody was optimistic about his future as a champion. A lot of people were hoping he would retire on account of all the punches absorbed.

Either way, that second place position is one that breaks a lot of former champions. Nobody who reaches the apex of the sport is content to settle for near the top (just like this). Most grow static and are passed by when the next class of contenders tries to stake their claim.

Holloway didn’t settle into that mold. After losing to Volkanovski, he smoked really talented fighters like Calvin Kattar, Yair Rodriguez and Arnold Allen, among others. He continued to improve and put on showcase performances. UFC didn’t book Ilia Topuria against Holloway because he was still at the top of his class, and the promotion didn’t want to risk another marketable contender getting smoked before he had a chance at gold.

Good call.

By putting in the work to stay fit and keep developing, Holloway put himself in prime position to contend again as soon as Volkanovski lost. Holloway vs. Topuria was a marketable fight as soon as Volkanovski’s body hit the canvas (watch highlights). Then, because he’s genuinely one of the most self-confident men in the sport, Holloway risked it all by jumping up to Lightweight for the second time to challenge Justin Gaethje.

Ignore the “BMF” belt silliness — that doesn’t matter. What matters is that Gaethje has been a Top 5-ranked Lightweight contender and feared knockout artist since 2017. He’s a terrifying opponent for anyone, and Holloway stepped up to the task with his usual boldness.

For most of five rounds, Holloway delivered a brilliant technical performance. From the first bell, it was clear that Holloway and his team had game-planned Gaethje to perfection. Right away, Holloway was working the body and then firing strikes up the middle. His right uppercut and left upjab found early homes on Gaethje’s chin, the most significant punches of the first round.

The spinning back kick was a brilliant read. Holloway landed the blow at an absurd accuracy rate, and the first one ripped up the middle — a historical hole in Gaethje’s defense first exploited by Eddie Alvarez — to shatter Gaethje’s nose.

That surely hurt Gaethje’s performance, as did the next dozen spin kicks that landed into the mid-section. It’s a good thing most Lightweights don’t throw spinning back kicks, because it’s apparently the perfect antidote to Gaethje’s squared, crouched forward advances.

Holloway’s body punches and uppercut success served to set up the straight right, his money punch. It was clipping Gaethje upside the temple often, and it seemed to buckle his legs every time.

Lightweight Holloway has power.

Holloway was on his way to a clear-cut decision win, one that likely secured him a Featherweight title shot. Once more, Holloway doubled the bet on himself. He pointed to the floor and traded with Lightweight’s most notorious bruiser ... and it was Gaethje who hit the floor in a heap (watch highlights).

It’s one of the best knockouts of all time. It’s the kind of win that gets Holloway whatever he wants (besides UFC Hawaii). A Featherweight title shot? Lightweight title shot? BMF title defense against a Conor McGregor? The world is Holloway’s oyster.

It’s also a victory that recontextualizes Holloway’s entire career moving forward. No longer is he the also-ran to Volkanovski, who may or may not be aging out of the Featherweight title picture. Sure, he still came up short in their trilogy, but no longer does it feel like the Volkanovski rivalry will be the defining story of Holloway’s career.

At 32 years of age, there’s even more greatness on the precipice.

For complete UFC 300: “Pereira vs. Hill” results and play-by-play, click HERE.