Even after Justin Gaethje publicly claimed his resistance to fighting Max Holloway, UFC CEO Dana White announced a BMF title fight between the pair. Holloway is expected to move to lightweight for the second time in his UFC career to face Gaethje at UFC 300.
‘Blessed’ called out Gaethje months ago for a BMF title fight. The 32-year-old fighter billed it as a fight ‘for the fans’. However, Gaethje shut down those call-outs by claiming he did not want to fight Holloway.
Instead, Justin Gaethje planned on waiting till the summer of 2024 and fighting Islam Makhachev for the UFC Lightweight title. Islam Makhachev also hinted at the plan in a post on X which detailed his upcoming schedule. However, White’s latest UFC 300 announcement has spilled water on those plans.
The UFC 300 card is gaining momentum as several fights for the milestone PPV have been announced. Dana White is set to announce more fights in the coming days.
Justin Gaethje admitted to not wanting to punch Max Holloway
Justin Gaethje defeated Dustin Poirier with an astounding head-kick KO at UFC 291 to win the BMF title. Instead of defending the title, Justin Gaethje was looking to add to it by fighting for the UFC Lightweight title. However, with Makhachev not fighting until summer, Max Holloway believed Justin Gaethje could take up a fight in the meantime.
‘The Highlight’, however, was not looking to fight Max Holloway. He told Marc Raimondi,
“I don’t ever want to fight Holloway so… I don’t know, I just don’t ever, I don’t want to punch him.
“I just don’t. It’s not necessary,” he continued.
“I like him too much. I like him. He’s a good dude. I don’t know him personally but I’m a fan of his. Yeah, I don’t prefer to punch him, but if I have to, I would, I guess. I expect no mercy in there and I give none so whoever fights me, it is what it is but I don’t prefer it.”
The former featherweight champion last fought at lightweight in the UFC in April 2019. He took on Poirier for the interim lightweight title but lost via unanimous decision. Max Holloway has a 25-7 record with six of his losses coming via decision and one via submission. ‘Blessed’ has never been knocked out.
