Tag: Max Holloway

Max Holloway predicts Justin Gaethje vs. Rafael Fiziev at UFC 313: ‘This is easy picking for me’

Max Holloway is confident with his pick for the UFC 313 co-main event.

[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] is confident with his pick for the UFC 313 co-main event.

[autotag]Justin Gaethje[/autotag] (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) runs things back with [autotag]Rafael Fiziev[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPNews/Disney+, ESPN+).

Gaethje is coming off a last-second knockout loss to Holloway at UFC 300 last April. “Blessed” is surprised to see Gaethje as a betting underdog against Fiziev, and expects him to rebound him in emphatic fashion.

“This is going to be a fight man,” Holloway said on his YouTube channel. “With Gaethje coming in as the underdog, this is easy picking for me. You need to roll with Gaethje, especially coming off of his last fight. He wants to erase that last loss with something huge, so I’m calling this right now. I’m picking Justin Gaethje, and I’m going with his nickname man, he’s going to have a highlight this fight.

“I think it’s going to be huge. It’s going to be big. I think he’s going to make a statement. He also knows that the 155-pound division with contenders is super up in the air. Whoever can make that statement win can just jump in there and get a title shot, and I think he goes out there and he does that. They call him ‘The Highlight’ for a reason, and what a better dance partner to do that with than Fiziev because you know Fiziev is going to come and fight.”

Gaethje edged out Fiziev in their first fight at UFC 286 by majority decision. Holloway thinks “The Highlight” will come with a chip on his shoulder after their fight.

“I think Justin, he’s got a lot to prove,” Holloway said. “I really can’t wait. I really can’t wait to see Justin go back in there and do his thing.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 313.

Overreaction Time: Conor McGregor vs. Dana White, BKFC on the rise, GFL draft farce, more!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” coming out of KnuckleMania 5, the GFL draft, Conor McGregor’s rejection, and more.

The time for overreacting is here!

Check out the latest episode of “Overreaction Time” at noon ET/9 a.m. PT as host Simon Samano and MMA Junkie Radio host Brian “Goze” Garcia debate these “overreactions” on the following topics in mixed martial arts:

  • KnuckleMania 5 proved BKFC is the No. 2 combat sports promotion behind UFC.
  • The GFL can’t be taken seriously and is destined to fail.
  • [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] was spot on with his takedown of Kamaru Usman.
  • [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] for the BMF title is BRILLIANT.
  • [autotag]Dana White[/autotag] was right to block [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] from boxing Logan Paul.
  • UFC Saudi Arabia is a MUST-WIN for [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag].

Watch the full episode in the video above.

Beneil Dariush on who gives UFC champ Islam Makhachev the toughest fight at lightweight

Beneil Dariush has an interesting pick for the UFC lightweight who has the best chance of dethroning Islam Makhachev.

[autotag]Beneil Dariush[/autotag] has an interesting pick for the UFC lightweight who has the best chance of dethroning [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag].

Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC) retained his lightweight title when he submitted Renato Moicano in Round 1 of their UFC 311 headliner  at Intuit Dome. He was originally scheduled to face Arman Tsarukyan, who pulled out just one day before their fight due to a back injury.

Makhachev already holds wins over four of the top six ranked UFC lightweights. While Dariush thinks Tsarukyan would have been a stern test for Makhachev, he sees [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]’s attributes posing problems.

“You know who would be interesting is Max Holloway,” Dariush told MMA on Sirius XM. “I think Max Holloway could be an interesting fight for Makhachev because he’s hard to hold, he has excellent cardio and he throws a lot of volume, and I think these are things that could be difficult for Makhachev.

“Then, interestingly enough, if you watch the fight with Merab (Dvalishvili), he has excellent cardio and he was able to do so much with that excellent cardio (vs. Nurmagomedov). I don’t remember the last time I saw Holloway in the fourth or the fifth round and he’s slowing down. So I think he has something similar.”

Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) made good in his lightweight return when he put on a striking clinic against Justin Gaethje, before knocking him out with a second left at UFC 300. He returned to featherweight the fight after, but was knocked out by champion Ilia Topuria at UFC 308.

Dariush (22-6-1 MMA, 16-6 UFC) is yet to fight Makhachev, but is on a two-fight losing skid. After Tsarukyan withdrew from UFC 311, Dariush was cutting weight in hopes of facing Makhachev, but the promotion opted to go with his opponent Moicano instead.

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Max Holloway suggests BMF title showdown vs. Charles Oliveira at International Fight Week

After their first meeting in 2015, Max Holloway appears eager to run it back with Charles Oliveira for the UFC’s BMF strap.

[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] wants to put his BMF status on the line against [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag] this summer.

The former UFC champions met for the first time 10 years ago. Unfortunately, their featherweight bout at UFC Fight Night 74 in August 2015 was cut short due to an Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) injury.

In the years since, Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) and Oliveira went on to capture UFC divisional titles, but now the two fan-favorite fighters want to meet again to determine the Baddest Motherf*cker on the planet.

At UFC 311, “Do Bronx” expressed his desire to run it back with current lightweight champ Islam Makhachev. Oliveira later told UFC Brasil that he would be willing to face “Blessed” for the BMF title if Makhachev rests until October. Holloway replied to the quote shared by Championship Rounds and offered a short but simple reply, suggesting a date for the showdown.

“International Fight Week?” Holloway wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The UFC typically hosts International Fight Week in June at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, but the promotion has not yet officially announced a date for this year’s pay-per-view event.

Holloway won the BMF belt by knocking out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, a highlight moment that won MMA Junkie’s 2024 Knockout of the Year. In his next appearance, Holloway challenged Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title at UFC 308, but failed to recapture gold. He has since said his future will be in the lightweight division.

If this proposed matchup ends up being the next fight for both, Oliveira would come on following a Fight of the Night unanimous decision win over Michael Chandler at UFC 309 in November.

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UFC star Dustin Poirier makes pick for 2024 Knockout of the Year

Dustin Poirier is one of the UFC’s all-time knockout artists, so his opinion for 2024 Knockout of the Year carries weight.

[autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] knows a thing or two about knockouts, and his initial pick for 2024 Knockout of the Year may not be the popular opinion.

Poirier acknowledges that [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) pointing to the floor in the final seconds of his BMF title fight against Justin Gaethje and subsequently face-planting him at UFC 300 is a dramatic moment, but that wasn’t his first pick for the best knockout in 2024.

“The Diamond” thinks featherweight champion Ilia Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) becoming the first fighter to knock out Holloway, as he did at UFC 308 in October, tops it.

“For me personally, it’s got to be Topuria knocking out Max,” Poirier said on ESPN’s “Good Guy/Bad Guy” show with Daniel Cormier and Chael Sonnen. “Max is a legend, multiple-time world champion, one of the best guys to ever do it, and Topuria was the first man to put him on his ass and knock him out. That was super impressive for me.”

Poirier has fought Holloway twice in the past, most recently outlasting him in a five-round battle to claim the interim lightweight title in their rematch in April 2019. Poirier landed some bombs on Holloway, but wasn’t able to put him away.

Topuria finally shattering the record-setting durability run of Holloway is why he rates the knockout so highly.

“Just how elusive he is in there but also the guys he fought, he’s never been put down,” Poirier said of Holloway. “Going in there toe-to-toe with Gaethje, I mean the list goes on with me, with Conor (McGregor), with a bunch of guys.

“Taking big shots and always answering the bell, always getting back up, always showing up to the next round. Never really seen him rocked or stumble that much. And to get put down for the first time after 30-plus UFC fights is, to me, Knockout of the Year.”

Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) himself had one of the best knockouts of the year when he sparked Benoit Saint Denis with a big right hook at UFC 299 in March. That would earn him a shot at lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, but Poirier fell short when he was submitted in Round 5.

Although Poirier initially made the case for Topuria, eventually Cormier convinced “The Diamond” that Holloway’s knockout of Gaethje deserves the No. 1 ranking.

“I do, me and the UFC are close on making it happen,” Poirier said on his next fight. “Hopefully, I’ll have some news for you guys soon. But going back to Knockout of the Year, can I switch my pick? Just now you talking about it, it brought me back.

“I was doing a viewing party in Connecticut, and it brought me back to that moment, and I got to say, I was more in awe that night than I was working ESPN with Chael, and Ilia did it. When Ilia did it, I was surprised. When Max did it, I was kind of in awe, blown away at the way he fell. Just everything combined just made it so special.”

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BMF champ Max Holloway would be honored to rematch ‘beast’ Charles Oliveira

Max Holloway is open to defending his BMF title against Charles Oliveira.

[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] is open to defending his BMF title against [autotag]Charles Oliveira[/autotag].

Oliveira (34-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC) runs things back with Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) co-headliner at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Upon hearing that Holloway will make a permanent move to lightweight, Oliveira told MMA Fighting that he’d be interested in facing him for the BMF title – and Holloway is more than happy to oblige.

“I heard Oliveira said he wanted to go for the BMF,” Holloway said on his YouTube channel. “That’s pretty cool. Oliveira, I know we have some history, and I know if that fight was ever offered to me, brother, it would be an honor to share the octagon with you, bro. You’re a beast, you’re an animal, and I can’t wait. I can’t wait for this fight. This fight (vs. Chandler) is huge.”

Holloway and Oliveira fought once before at featherweight in August 2015, with Holloway defeating “Do Bronx” by TKO less than two minutes into their fight due to injury. Holloway’s win over Oliveira was part of an impressive 13-fight winning streak, which resulted in “Blessed” capturing the UFC featherweight title.

Holloway is coming off a knockout loss to featherweight champion Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 in October. He announced his plans of moving back up to lightweight immediately after, where he recently knocked out Justin Gaethje to claim the BMF title at UFC 300 in April.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.

Max Holloway inspired by UFC champ Alex Pereira’s impressive rebound from knockout loss

Just like Alex Pereira did, Max Holloway hopes he can turn things around after getting knocked out in the octagon.

Just like [autotag]Alex Pereira[/autotag] did, [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] hopes he can turn things around after getting knocked out in the octagon.

Former champion Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) suffered his first-career knockout loss when he was stopped by featherweight champ Ilia Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the UFC 308 main event.

Holloway announced that he’ll be making a permanent move up to lightweight, and seeks new life in a weight class above – just like light heavyweight champion Pereira (12-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) did when he lost his middleweight title to Israel Adesanya by knockout at UFC 287.

“155 bro, I cannot wait,” Holloway said during a KICK stream (h/t Championship Rounds). “All I know is, we saw Alex Pereira get finished, right? Next fight he fought for a No. 1 contender spot, (then he) fought for the title and he’s on a spectacular title run. Let’s mimic it. Let’s do it. I get inspiration in that. He’s a beast.”

After losing to Adesanya, Pereira moved up to 205 pounds and defeated ex-champ Jan Blachowicz at UFC 291 to become No. 1 contender. He won the vacant title by knocking out Jiri Prochazka, and has since defended his belt twice with knockouts of Jamahal Hill, and most recently Khalil Rountree at UFC 307 in October.

Prior to his loss to Topuria, Holloway landed in the No. 5 spot in the UFC’s lightweight rankings by scoring an iconic last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje to become BMF champion at UFC 300.

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Daniel Cormier explains being against Max Holloway facing Dustin Poirier in lightweight return

Daniel Cormier would like Max Holloway to ease back into lightweight rather than face “as crazy of a challenge” as Dustin Poirier.

[autotag]Daniel Cormier[/autotag] wants [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] to ease his way back into lightweight.

Holloway failed to regain the featherweight title when he was knocked out for the first time in his career by champion Ilia Topuria last month at UFC 308. He recently announced that he’ll be moving to lightweight, and both he and Dustin Poirier expressed interest in a trilogy bout next.

Prior to the Topuria loss, Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) scored an iconic last-second knockout of former interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. However, Cormier wishes “Blessed” didn’t jump right back into the deep end at 155 pounds.

“He’s asking for Dustin Poirier. That would be absolutely fantastic, but is there a better way to introduce Max Holloway into the lightweight division?” Cormier said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “Do we put him in there with a Dustin for a third time? Or do we see what happens with Michael Chandler after he fights against Charles Oliveira? Or do we start to kind of look down the rankings a little bit and say, ‘Well, it would be fun to watch him fight a Rafael Fiziev. It would be fun to watch him fight a Benoit Saint Denis. It would be fun to watch him fight a Paddy Pimblett.’

“I know that might not be fun for Max, that might not be great for Max, but it would also give him an opportunity to work his way back into contention without being in there with these absolute killers. Personally, I would like to see Max Holloway not stand across from Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje. Alexander Volkanovski then Ilia Topuria, something not as crazy of a challenge.”

Holloway’s first stint at lightweight in the UFC ended in a lopsided decision loss to Poirier for the interim title in April 2019. But after finishing Gaethje to claim the BMF title in April, Holloway finds himself at No. 5 in the UFC lightweight rankings.

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UFC news reaction: Holloway moves to 155, Machado Garry vs. Buckley, de Randamie retires, more

On the latest episode of “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel reacts to Max Holloway moving back to 155, Ian Machado Garry vs. Joaquin Buckley booking, and more.

Last week’s MMA news cycle left plenty to digest.

From [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]’s announcement of moving back up to lightweight, to the welterweight booking between [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag], and the retirement of former UFC women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag], a lot went down. Additionally, the UFC revealed the details for the new, upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”

All this news left many questions: Is Holloway making the right call by leaving featherweight? What’s at stake in the Garry Machado vs. Buckley matchup in Tampa, Fla.? What kind of legacy does de Randamie leave behind?

MMA Junkie’s Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King, Danny Segura and host Gorgeous “George” discuss and react to the latest news in the world of MMA.

Watch their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below on YouTube.

https://youtube.com/live/G_MvMlbjAX0

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Spinning Back Clique REPLAY: Brandon Moreno’s return, Belal Muhammad out of UFC 310, Max Holloway’s move

On “Spinning Back Clique,” the panel discusses Brandon Moreno’s return, Belal Muhammad’s UFC 310 withdrawal and much more.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts.

This week’s panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Nolan King and Danny Segura will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate the following topics:

  • UFC Fight Night 246 went down Saturday in Canada and left us with two key results at men’s and women’s flyweight. In the main event, former champion [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] successfully returned to action after taking a break from the sport by dominating [autotag]Amir Albazi[/autotag] in a unanimous decision win. Also, [autotag]Erin Blanchfield[/autotag] outpointed [autotag]Rose Namajunas[/autotag] in a hard-fought decision to cement herself as a top title contender. What happens next? We discuss.
  • Bad news. UFC welterweight champion [autotag]Belal Muhammad[/autotag] suffered a foot injury and was forced out of his title bout against [autotag]Shavkat Rakhmonov[/autotag] in the main event of UFC 310. This leaves a big hole to fill since the bout was scheduled to headline the final pay-per-view of the year. Should the UFC implement an interim title? If so, who should fight for it? We react to Muhammad’s injury and how it impacts both UFC 310 and the welterweight division.  
  • A lot of news went down this past week, including fight bookings and retirements. Former UFC champion [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] announced her retirement from the sport; the UFC booked a key welterweight bout between [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag] and [autotag]Joaquin Buckley[/autotag] for December; and featherweight all-time great [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] revealed he is moving back up to lightweight. We analyze those headlines and more.
  • We close out the show by previewing Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 247 event in Las Vegas. We break down the welterweight bout between [autotag]Neil Magny[/autotag] and rising contender [autotag]Carlos Prates[/autotag] headlining the card, along with other standout bouts.

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