Max Holloway is preparing for a five-round fight with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 and is not concerned about where he is placed on the card, stating that he is simply excited to be part of the event.
Max Holloway? He’s not fussed about where he’s fighting at UFC 300. He’s aware that the world’s eyes will be on him and Justin Gaethje.
UFC’s still on the hunt for a headliner for the historic event on April 13. Meanwhile, Holloway’s gearing up for a five-round clash with Gaethje for the “BMF” title. Only one other title fight’s confirmed for UFC 300 — Zhang Weili vs Yan Xiaonan for the strawweight title. But, it’s likely the promotion will add at least one more.
Holloway’s fight? It’s almost a given it’ll end up on the main card. But he’s not losing sleep over whether he’s the main event or the opening bout.
“We’re fighting five rounds,” Holloway said to MMA Fighting. “I’m fighting him five rounds already. I really don’t care where we are on the card.” If they get to main event UFC 300, it’d be super dope. But at the end of the day, a fight is a fight.
Holloway doesn’t care where they’re placed on the card. As long as he’s on it, he’s happy. Having an opponent like Gaethje? Even better.
It’s not a stretch to think that Holloway vs. Gaethje could steal the show.
They’re two fan favorites. Between them, they’ve earned 13 Fight of the Night awards and a remarkable 23 post-fight bonuses overall. Holloway holds records like the most significant strikes landed in UFC history and the most finishes ever in the featherweight division. Gaethje? He’s known as an all-action fighter with multiple Fight of the Year awards and an insane finishing rate of 20 knockouts over 25 career wins.
“Whenever myself or Gaethje’s on the card, I think most of the time it’s the people’s main event,” Holloway said. “They know what they get. When you see us on the card, you know what you’re going to get. You’re going to get the bang for your buck.”
The fight on April 13 will be Holloway’s return to lightweight, his first appearance in the weight class since losing to Dustin Poirier in an interim title fight back in 2019.
Holloway gave Poirier everything he could handle over five rounds, but the former featherweight champ dealt with a size and power discrepancy throughout the fight.
As he prepares to return to 155 pounds for the Gaethje fight, Holloway offers no excuses about that past loss. He’s handling things much differently this time around.
“I think my eating habits are better,” Holloway explained. “My training is better. That was like four years ago, I believe I’m stronger, I believe I’m smarter. I’ve just got a lot of things going checked in than what I had. No excuses for that last fight, I hate making excuses, but I was just an overweight ‘45er, you might say, in that one.
“This one, it’s going to be different. I don’t want to talk too much about it but it’s going to be different. You guys are going to see on April 13 why it’s going to be different.”
Holloway knows that past fight will be referenced often leading into UFC 300, especially after Gaethje scored a vicious head kick knockout over Poirier in his most recent outing.
No two fights are the same, so Holloway isn’t going to spend much time detailing why he expects a different result. But he’s more than confident that he’ll walk out victorious when the night is finished.
“A lot of people like talking about that fight, and this and that, and because of what Gaethje did in his last fight,” Holloway said. “The beautiful thing is we get to find out April 13. I can’t wait. I can’t wait to show the world what we’ve been working on. I can’t wait to show people what we’ve been working on.”
If he beats Gaethje as planned, Holloway will find himself in a prime position for a future in which he could almost call his shot about what comes next.
He could return to featherweight and pursue another title shot there, or perhaps he’ll stick around at lightweight because Gaethje was already declared the No. 1 contender in the division after he beat Poirier.
Whatever the case, Holloway appreciates the freedom a win at UFC 300 will give him.
“It’s options,” Holloway said. “At the end of the day, it’s just having options. Being able to go to ‘45 is easy. Going up to ‘55 is easy. I just can’t wait to go out there and show out.”