Justin Gaethje has offered a prediction of his UFC 300 BMF title fight against Max Holloway, as ‘The Highlight’ looks to successfully defend his title.
The notoriously tough Max Holloway has never even been dropped in his professional career, a career that totals 32 fights to this point.
Justin Gaethje has respectfully recognized the quality that ‘Blessed’ possesses and is looking to paint a ‘violent picture’ with the former featherweight champion.
Holloway is making his return to 155lbs for the fight and has only fought at the weight once before, losing in his interim title fight against Dustin Poirier back in 2019.
The history of the BMF title
The BMF title was first introduced at UFC 244 in 2019 when Jorge Masvidal took on Nate Diaz in the inaugural title fight. Masvidal went on to win that fight after the doctor stopped it at the end of round three because of the damage Diaz sustained.
‘Gamebred’ didn’t ever officially defend his title as he went on to compete for undisputed welterweight gold a few times after. When he announced he was walking away from the UFC after his loss to Gilbert Burns at UFC 287, the BMF title became vacant again.
This left the door open for Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier to compete for it at UFC 291 last year, with ‘The Highlight’ avenging his 2018 loss to Poirier with a huge head-kick knockout win.
Masvidal was the one who presented Gaethje with the title after his win, as Poirier wasn’t able to continue the American Top Team ‘BMF’ lineage.
Justin Gaethje predicts history will repeat itself
With the first BMF title fight ending with a doctor stoppage, the 35-year-old champion is predicting that it will happen again at UFC 300.
“No one quite steals the show like the highlight. Carnage, chaos, probably some blood and adrenaline coursing through my veins.” Gaethje explained what to expect in a UFC 300 promo video.
Identifying that Holloway is one of the most durable fighters ever, Gaethje said he is expecting to inflict so much damage that the doctor has to step in and stop the fight.
“Max Holloway is a legend, probably the only fighter on the UFC roster that checks every single box when it comes to being a BMF and so I have a lot of respect for him.
“However, this is my job and I’m going to try and f*** him up. I will finish Max, he might not go to sleep the traditional way, but I think I will inflict enough damage to where the doctors going to stop it. We’re about to paint a violent picture.” Gaethje added.
Although a win over the former featherweight champion would be huge for Gaethje, he will likely have to wait until Islam Makhachev has defended his lightweight title against Dustin Poirier before he gets another shot at undisputed gold.
The 32-year-old Hawaiin on the other hand will hope to make it three wins in a row with a win at UFC 300, giving him the option to stick at 155lbs or to move back down and fight Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title.