Morning Report: Dana White calls Max Holloway ‘probably the greatest featherweight of all time’ ahead of UFC 300


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 Caranogrotesquely 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.

Blessed.

Lol.

Final prep.

Great phrase.

Things you love to see.

Progress.

Gloves.

The highlightiest.

Living it up.

The Mona Lexa.

Simply majestic.

Instant upgrade.

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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