Justin Gaethje left face-down in last-second KO by Max Holloway at UFC 300

Holloway was on his way to a points win against Gaethje at UFC 300 but instead left hi rival face-down on the canvas with a brutal KO in the final second of their fight

Max Holloway won the 'BMF' title by leaving Justin Gaethje face-down on the canvas with a final-second KO in their UFC 300 fight.

Holloway was moving up a weight class to challenge for the symbolic belt against former interim champion Gaethje, who won the 'BMF' belt last July with a stunning head-kick KO against Dustin Poirier. The opening round was evenly contested but it was Holloway who had the highlight moment by landing a spinning back kick that cut the nose of Gaethje open.

Holloway was lucky to avoid a point deduction in the second round as he illegally poked Gaethje in the eye on two occasions. 'Blessed' was seemingly as he continued to land the better strikes but Gaethje put him down out of nowhere with a right hand in the first of two championship rounds.

Gaethje's nose was a bloody mess and likely broken but he lived up to his 'BMF' moniker by fighting on despite being down on the scorecards. Holloway took the middle of the cage and pointed down to the canvas in the last 10 seconds to swing it out with Gaethje, who welcomed his request. The pair exchanged big punches before Holloway connected with an overhand right that KO'd Gaethje with just one second left in the fight.

"First things first, give it up to Gaethje, a real BMF," Holloway said after his historic win. "He had so much to lose and nothing to gain for this fight, but he gave it to me for you guys. Raise the roof for him a lot louder, let's get it! I'm him guys!" Holloway proceeded to call for a fight against featherweight champipon Ilia Topuria, who was cageside, and even challenged lightweight champion Islam Makachev.

"All love to you guys, showing you real BMF's. Any weight, I'm a gladiator. Whoever is next, sign on the dotted line. I want $600,000. That was Fight of the Night and Knockout of the Night bonus baby," Holloway added. The Hawaiian is now on a three-fight winning streak after impressive wins against Arnold Allen and The Korean Zombie last year.