When Max Holloway decisively lost his third fight against Alexander Volkanovski, his championship aspirations seemed all but extinguished. Nevertheless, Holloway remained one of the top fighters in the current landscape. He recorded two impressive wins against Arnold Allen and The Korean Zombie. Then, in what many considered a risky fight, he moved up to the lightweight division to take on Justin Gaethje.
Image – SaltWire
Before this fight, many pointed to Holloway’s previous loss to Dustin Porier in this division. In that fight, Holloway struggled against Porier’s punching power, and many felt that he would carry the same disadvantage in this fight. Furthermore, Gaethje had some serious momentum heading into the fight. He showed improved decision making in his win against Rafael Fiziev. Then, Gaethje created the highlight of his career when he head-kicked Porier in their rematch. This led most to favor Gaethje heading into this clash for the BMF belt.
Image – MMA Mania
Holloway had set out to remind everyone who he was, and he did just that in this fight. Against all expectations, he completely dominated Justin Gaethje. Immediately, Holloway demonstrated that he could in fact use his power effectively at lightweight. He landed a devastating spinning back kick in round 1, and built on that momentum throughout the fight. Gaethje never gave up, and continued to use his damaging leg kicks. As one-sided as the fight was, Gaethje did become the first person to drop Holloway. However, the last ten seconds of the fight captured the entire story. Max, in classic fashion, pointed to the center of the octagon. In the chaos, Max managed to knock Gaethje out cold in the final second.
Image – Marca.com
With such a dramatic victory, Max easily walked away as the biggest winner on the biggest card. Not only did he upset Gaethje, but he dominated the fight and finished it with the ultimate highlight. The win has now positioned Holloway for another title shot against the new featherweight champion, Ilia Topuria. Furthermore, Holloway’s win also potentially sets him up for big fights in the lightweight division. While many wrote off Holloway’s chances, Max showed that his story is far from finished.
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