Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway – Early Thoughts
Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway will battle for the BMF title at UFC 300 in April.
Over the summer at UFC 291, Gaethje claimed the BMF title by knocking out Dustin Poirier with a head kick in the second round of their fight.
That win made Gaethje just the second man in UFC history to win the BMF title after Jorge Masvidal defeated Nate Diaz for the first ever BMF title back in 2019.
While the fight is still a few weeks away, here are some early thoughts on the upcoming BMF fight, which will be on the UFC 300 main card. The early thoughts and reaction can also be seen in the video above.
How will Max Holloway handle the power of Justin Gaethje?
I like Holloway at 155 pounds and I think he has all the tools to be one of the top contenders at lightweight. After all he’s been a dominate at featherweight by beating literally everyone except Alexander Volkanovski.
How far he can go in the division is going to be how he handles the power of the lightweights.
Yes, Holloway did beat Charles Oliveira and Anthony Pettis, but that was at featherweight.
Remember, the last time Holloway fought at lightweight was when he fought Poirier for the interim lightweight title back in 2019 and Poirier’s power was the difference in the fight as Holloways was marked up and badly cut in their 25 minute contest in which Poirier won.
Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway maybe a great fight
If Holloway can handle Gaethje’s power this can be a fun fight for the fans.
The fight will take place on the feet and both guys are high level strikers who have the cardio to fight through a 25 minute war.
Fight fans have seen fights like this before and they make for an exciting matchup so this may definitely fit the bill for a good one.
Why the BMF belt?
This is the only thing I don’t like about the fight.
When Diaz called out Masvidal for a BMF fight with the west coast gangster vs. the east coast gangster, the fight sold. It was such a great call out that The Rock got behind it and the two headlined Madison Square Garden.
After that the fight, UFC president Dana White said the belt was a one off and we wouldn’t see it again.
So why did they do it last summer and why are they doing it again?
All fighters are badasses. All are tough as nails. However, not all are BMF’s in the way the belt was designed. In fact, I don’t really think Gaethje, Poirier or Holloway fit the original criteria for the belt.
Overall Thoughts
Very possible this is a great fight at UFC 300. I do like the matchup. It’s different and makes you ask some good questions. Still don’t like the BMF title being on the line.
