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Max Holloway is a legend of MMA and still just 32 years old.
Hawaii’s finest has only lost to one man at featherweight since 2013 (18-3, 21-6 at featherweight, 25-7 overall) and that’s recently dethroned champion Alexander Volkanovski. Along the way, Holloway became a champion himself when he won 14 straight before running into “The Great.”
Holloway successfully defended his title thrice and holds wins over former or future champions such as Charles Oliveira, Anthony Pettis, Jose Aldo (twice), and Frankie Edgar. Although he’s been without the strap since December 2019, Holloway has put on some of the greatest performances in not only his career, but all of MMA history. He’s been as fearless as they come in the sport, once willing to take on Khabib Nurmagomedov on short notice at lightweight. At UFC 300 this Saturday, he’ll challenge for “BMF” … platinum? Silver? Black gold? Whatever color the belt technically is, Holloway aims to take it off the all-violence champion Justin Gaethje.
For UFC CEO Dana White’s money, we’ll see the 145-pound G.O.A.T. in action against “The Highlight.”
“Max Holloway, always a big fan favorite,” White said from his Las Vegas “War Room” office on First Take (h/t MMA Mania). “Probably the greatest featherweight of all time, going up against Gaethje, who is a human highlight reel.
“The idea of the BMF was built right here in this room. There’s always these fights that the fans love, whether it’s a [Jorge] Masvidal vs. [Nate] Diaz, you know, those types of fights — Gaethje and Holloway. We were sitting in here one day and thought about building this BMF title and who’s better fit for this thing than Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway? We thought about it in here. I told the guys, ‘Tell me if I’m crazy, but what do you think of this idea?’ They loved it, the fans love it, and here we go.”
A fight of Gaethje vs. Holloway’s guaranteed excitement level couldn’t have been more fitting for a spot on UFC 300. It’s a matchup that, realistically, doesn’t make any sense. Holloway has fought at lightweight once in his UFC career, which will be five years ago to the day on fight night. His last appearance in the division came in his interim title rematch against Dustin Poirier, who defeated him via a thrilling unanimous decision at UFC 236.
Gaethje’s BMF championship — which he won against Poirier at UFC 291 last July — is essentially a side quest as he awaits and bolsters his case for an undisputed title shot against lightweight king Islam Makhachev. He’s a top contender at 155 pounds and facing a top featherweight is undeniably random. We can’t complain, though. This dream fight is just too good to be true and exactly what helps make UFC 300 an all-timer on paper.
The question now is: Is it the all-timer?
“When you think about it, it’s the greatest card ever assembled in combat sports history,” White said of UFC 300. “Not just UFC, not just MMA, ever.”
Jacked. Kayla Harrison’s first official UFC bantamweight photos emerge for UFC 300
Champion. Dricus du Plessis refused to let Israel Adesanya dictate UFC 300 booking: ‘You are summoned when I say you’re summoned’
Kickoff. Cody Garbrandt on Deiveson Figueiredo: ‘He doesn’t want this fight’
Skeptic. Max Holloway doesn’t buy Islam Makhachev’s complaints about worthy opponents
Shade. Max Holloway rips ‘questionable’ Ilia Topuria: ‘They gave me a lot of up and coming contenders, and there’s 1 that didn’t come my way’
Achilles. Jamahal Hill reflects on lessons from career-threatening injury: ‘It could have all been over’
Controversy. Disney says Gina Carano ‘grotesquely trivialized the Holocaust,’ files to dismiss Elon Musk-backed lawsuit
Welcome. Kayla Harrison addresses Ronda Rousey comparisons, declares ‘the queen has arrived’ in UFC
Rematch. Tom Aspinall wants to defend title against Curtis Blaydes at rumored UFC PPV in Manchester this summer
UFC 300 Media Day.
The MMA Hour.
Embedded 3.
Zhang vs. Yan preview.
Free fight.
PFL Fight Week.
Gaethje Behind the Curtain.
Oliveira’s Journey.
Epic.
The War Room: Pereira vs. Hill.
Fancy UFC 300 preview.
No Bets Barred. MMA Fighting’s Jed Cashew and Conner Burks discuss the spectacular UFC 300 lineup.
Let’s party, gang. Getting closer and closer to Saturday.
Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!
Poatan…
Bate Estaca.
Jessica Andrade has been involved in 17 finishes in The UFC. This is the most ever in the female divisions by a significant margin.
A well earned spot on UFC 300. pic.twitter.com/fEOBaaRIHg
— Andy Hickey MMA (@AndyHickeyMMA) April 10, 2024
Blessed.
Lol.
Final prep.
Great phrase.
Things you love to see.
Progress.
Gloves.
…and we all hoped that they were going to fix the gloves.
Of course not. It’s something new to sell to you instead.
Soon you will be able to buy ‘fight-worn eyeballs’ to go with your name on the canvas.
— Dan Hardy (@danhardymma) April 10, 2024
The highlightiest.
Living it up.
The Mona Lexa.
Simply majestic.
Instant upgrade.
Thought a #UFC300 poster, done similar to the RIZIN 45 poster (below), would be really cool, so I went and made it, not perfect, but thought it would be cool to share, especially for such a special card.
After all UFC 300 is all about the fighters and their stories! pic.twitter.com/D6VoFrvCS3— Victor (@frontkicked) April 11, 2024
I like me a good trophy in MMA.
Champ.
He had that answer ready to go.
This is a long one if you want to rewatch the man’s whole career.
Bare-knuckle boxing in the RIZIN ring, folks.
Um…
Si Woo Park (11-5) vs. Machi Fukuda (4-1); Deep Jewels 45, May 26
Nathaniel Wood (19-6) vs. Daniel Pineda (28-15); UFC Fight Night, July 20
Max is one of them, but we gotta respect the ones who did it first. First Kamaru Usman over Georges St-Pierre, now this. Dana gonna Dana.
Thanks for reading!
Poll
Is UFC 300 the greatest MMA event ever assembled?
If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @DrakeRiggs_ on Twitter and let him know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Instagram and like us on Facebook.
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