Justin Gaethje struggles to see a scenario where he defeats Max Holloway at UFC 300 then challenges Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title seven weeks later.
The BMF title matchup between reigning champ Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and Holloway (25-7 MMA, 21-7 UFC) on Saturday’s card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) has been met with some resistance within the MMA community, especially from those who think it’s derailed the natural order of the lightweight title picture.
Both current 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev and former titleholder Khabib Nurmagomedov have been critical of UFC’s matchmaking, because they thought Gaethje should’ve been the next challenger. With Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan also set to fight at UFC 300, Makhachev doesn’t think anyone is going to meet his desired timeline of competing at UFC 302 on June 1 in Newark, N.J., which is why he called out Dustin Poirier for the date.
