Holloway defines ‘baddest’ with final-second knockout
Zhang, Pereira retain belts in other title fights
Max Holloway was moments away from a showcase victory on one of the biggest cards in UFC history Saturday night at T-mobile Arena. He wanted more.
Holloway was ahead on the scorecards in the closing seconds of his “BMF” — baddest (expletive) — title bout at UFC 300 when he motioned for Justin Gaethje to join him in the center of the cage and trade haymakers in a finish befitting of the profanely named symbolic belt.
The result was a brutal knockout that left Gaethje lying facedown in the center of the cage just one second before the final bell.
“I’m him,” Holloway shouted to a raucous sellout crowd that rose to its feet in unison.
The lightweight bout was the most anticipated fight of the night on a stacked card that included 12 current or former champions and two title fights.
Women’s strawweight champion Weili Zhang earned a unanimous decision over Xiaonan
Yan and light heavyweight champ Alex Pereira knocked out former champ Jamahal Hill in the first round to retain their belts in the headlining championship bouts.
It was Holloway who stole the show, however. He landed a spinning back kick in the closing seconds of the first round that appeared to do major damage to Gaethje’s nose. Holloway then kept Gaethje off-balance with a well-disguised striking attack over the course of a five-round affair that was contested entirely on the feet.
Both had their moments in a wildly entertaining bout. But it was Holloway who landed a massive right hand that will go down as one of the most memorable in the history of the organization, which started with UFC 1 in Denver on Nov. 12, 1993.
“First things first, give it up to Gaethje, a real ‘BMF,’ ” Holloway said. “He had nothing to gain and so much to lose and he gave me this chance.”
Holloway then called for a featherweight title bout against Ilia Topuria, a request that will be tough to deny after his performance Saturday.
While Holloway’s finish stood out, it wasn’t the only highlight on the historic card:
Pereira, Zhang roll
Pereira ended the evening with a vicious left hook that knocked out Hill at 3:15 of the first round. It was one of the first significant strikes the champion had landed against Hill, who was returning from a torn Achilles that caused him to be stripped of his belt last summer.
The decisive sequence came moments after referee Herb Dean stepped in to call timeout because Hill had landed a low blow. Pereira motioned for Dean to back off and the fighters tapped gloves to restart the action.
Pereira immediately came forward and knocked Hill back to the canvas, following up with punches on the ground to keep the belt around his waist.
“I told everyone the whole time, he’s a strong guy,” Pereira said of the early feeling-out process. “I cannot go away from my strategy. That’s exactly what I was doing. Everything went perfectly.
“To be honest, when I step into the octagon, I don’t see myself as the champion. I do the same thing outside of it in my personal life. I don’t let this belt go to my head. I have to come in here and I have to win this belt every time to become the champion. I don’t let it go to my head ever.”
Zhang appeared to have her fight finished on several occasions before winning on the scorecards.
She had a choke locked in right until the final bell of the first round. Yan appeared to perhaps be out as she stumbled to get back to her feet between rounds.
“I thought she was out, but she bounced back very quickly,” Zhang said.
Zhang then landed a flurry that nearly prompted a referee stoppage in the second round, but she elected to once again go for a choke instead. While Yan had a modicum of success in the third, Zhang cruised to the finish line.
It was her fourth straight win overall and third in title bouts.