Joe Rogan has witnessed a lot of great things happen in the octagon during his long tenure as UFC commentator. But for him, no knockout tops what Max Holloway did to Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) claimed the BMF title in the most spectacular way possible this past Saturday when he knocked Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) out cold with one second remaining in Round 5 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Despite being moments away from a unanimous decision victory on the scorecards, Holloway opted to point to the middle of the cage as the clock winded down for a brawl with Gaethje, who obliged before getting caught with a flush right hand that immediately slumped him.
It was a mind-boggling moment, and Rogan said on the UFC 300 broadcast that it was the single greatest knockout he’d ever seen when taking the entire scope of it into account.
“That’s the greatest knockout of all time,” Rogan said. “With so many people counting him out, with so many people thinking he was outgunned, with so many people thinking he wouldn’t have a chance against the firepower of Justin Gaethje, the fact that he called for that with 10 seconds left in the fight and put the lights out on one of the most dangerous men to ever fight in the sport.
“The fact that he did it this way, too, that he pointed to the center of the octagon, pointed to the floor and said, ‘Let’s thrown down right here’ and then sleeps Justin Gaethje with one punch. In a fight where a lot of people thought he was gonna get outgunned. Where a lot of people thought he was going to get hurt.”
Holloway, a former longtime UFC featherweight champion, moved up to lightweight for the BMF title matchup with Gaethje. “Blessed” hadn’t fought in the division in exactly five years, and he lost his first appearance to Dustin Poirier at UFC 236 in April 2019.
The Hawaiian was given more time to prepare for UFC 300 than he did the Poirier fight, and it paid off. Holloway looked strong and fast inside the octagon in a brilliant performance that was capped off with a legendary highlight that earned him $600,000 in bonus money.
Rogan said he would’ve been very impressed with Holloway if that knockout had never happened and he won on the scorecards. He capped off the strong performance with an unforgettable moment, though, and Rogan said that only enhances Holloway’s legacy.
“He looked so good,” Rogan said. “But it’s all about giving Max the time to prepare for lightweight. He looked thicker, he looked denser, he put muscle on, and he prepared for a terrifying fighter. And he knew what he was going in against, and that’s what a guy like Max Holloway needs with all these years in the game. We’ve got to remember: Max Holloway is 32, but he was in here at 20 years old. And he needs something like that for us to see how great he truly is.
“Listen, Max Holloway is one of the greatest, if not the greatest featherweight of all time. And what you saw is that he’s one of the greatest fighters of all time, period. And he’s still 32. He’s in his prime right now. I think a lot of people forgot that. Those (Alexander) Volkanovski losses, I think a lot people said, ‘Ah, he’s done.’ But no, he’s better than ever. And he looked sensational.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
