BMF: Max Holloway
Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway didn’t need to fight for the title of “Bad Mother F**ker” (BMF) but for a marquee event like UFC 300, they did. These two men have been through enough fights that the title is probably more theirs by right than any other fighter to date. However, when you have fighters like that, it only makes sense to have them on a card like this.
Early in the fight, Holloway’s ranged boxing game seemed to bring in a cautious Gaethje. It was the perfect example of being too careful to the point of slowing down as Holloway’s boxing would cause damage to Gaethje’s nose, likely taking away any cardio advantage he would have.
Gaethje had his moments with the leg kicks he landed causing visible damage to the left leg of Holloway, but Holloway’s game was slow, measured destruction of a man known to be destructive. His reach would find its mark in most of their exchanges, even after a right hand from Gaethje would seat Holloway for a moment.
As the rounds wore on, the nose damage seemed to never stop bothering Gaethje. Eye pokes aside, it looked like Holloway’s plan was to cause the bear in Gaethje to fall on the spear of Holloway’s boxing. In the fifth and final round, with only a few seconds left, Holloway called for them to go toe-to-toe as he has done in past fights and see who can lay claim to the BMF title.
Against someone like Gaethje, that would not be a smart move. But for someone like Holloway, who was the underdog coming into this fight and never looked better, it was more than worth the risk it presented. With only two seconds remaining, Holloway would land a right hand that would floor one of the more dangerous lightweights in the UFC.
When this fight was booked, fans seemed concerned for Holloway. Now, at UFC 300 he walked out of the T-Mobile arena as one Bad Mother F**ker.
