Max Holloway captured the BMF crown in emphatic fashion at UFC 300 on Saturday night.
“Blessed” sent Justin Gaethje face-first into the canvas with a spectacular overhand right with just a second to spare in the fifth round of the “Baddest Motherf***er” title fight.
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It was a devastating end to arguably the most anticipated fight of the evening – one that saw Holloway pocket a staggering bonus from UFC president Dana White.
This happened after the Hawaiian had already done a lot of damage to his opponent in a surprisingly tactical first round.
The tentative opening round ended with “The Highlight” lunging at his opponent only to end up with a nasty last-gasp spinning kick that hit him on the bridge of the nose.
The brutal kick sent him flying across the cage and slow-motion footage showed Gaethje’s nose broken and gushing blood.
“Justin standing here is outrageous,” one fan said in response to the slow-motion footage.
Gaethje’s compromised nose was clearly causing him problems at the start of the second round but he managed to recover.
But Holloway stepped on the gas in the second and third rounds to almost take out the former interim lightweight champion.
Holloway’s masterclass continued into the fifth and, with ten seconds remaining, he bit his mouthpiece and pointed to the middle of the canvas to exchange blows in a chaotic final sequence.
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The former featherweight champion managed to find his target with one second remaining, landing a spectacular right hand to become the new BMF champion in front of a packed T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Color commentator Joe Rogan called it “the greatest knockout of all time” as Holloway won the Performance of the Night bonus alongside Jiri Prochazka.
It was a performance worthy of “BMF” and White later admitted it was one of the greatest “holy shit” moments of all time.
Speaking specifically about Holloway vs. Gaethje, White said: “It was unbelievable. That fight sucked the life out of everyone tonight.
“The next two fights, everyone was sitting there looking dead, it was a huge adrenaline rush.
“People always ask me what I do, I sell sacred moments for a living.
“It was the ultimate shit moment ever. If you were at home, if you were at a bar, or if you were live tonight, there’s no bigger shit than that.
“That’s why Max Holloway is loved – and Gaethje. How many times have you seen a fight when you know the guy is winning, they click the ten second thing, then the guy throws his hands up and just moves?
“He won the fight and he’s there with one of the most fucking dangerous fighters in the business and he says ‘let’s do this’ and they both oblige.
“There’s one second left and a knockout like that is like shit in the movies.”
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