Max Holloway wins 'BMF' belt with epic, last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje

Max Holloway earned the "BMF" title and one of the most violent knockouts in UFC history Saturday at UFC 300.

In the waning seconds of the fight, Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) pointed to the center, swung, and faceplanted an obliging Justin Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) unconscious – with one second left on the clock in Round 5. The lightweight "BMF" title bout was part of the UFC 300 main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Both fighters were perhaps more cautious than anticipated in Round 1. Holloway showed off calculated patience and beautiful point-fighting, while Gaethje returned with some hard boxing of his own.

A pivotal moment occurred at the end of Round 1. As the horn sounded, Holloway landed a jumping back kick. His heel dug into the nose of Gaethje, who held his face as he walked back to his corner. The damage was apparent as the cut man attended to him between rounds.

Things got worse for Gaethje in Round 2. As if being unable to breathe wasn't bad enough, Holloway poked him twice, once in each eye. Referee Marc Goddard called timeout on each foul, but didn't take a point.

In Round 3, Holloway landed some hard shots. Gaethje struggled to find rhythm. The speed advantage was obvious in Holloway's favor.

Things got a little more interesting in Round 4 as the monotony of a Holloway striking showcase was broken. Gaethje landed a right hand that knocked Holloway down. It was the first registered knockdown against Holloway in his career.

Before Round 5, coach Trevor Whitman tried to motivate his fighter, Gaethje, and called for aggression throughout the final five minutes.

Holloway flipped that script though and stunned Gaethje with a violent, speed-changing combination. Holloway drilled the body with two punches, but Gaethje stayed upright and waved Holloway on.

In the final seconds, Holloway turned back time to his famous swing-for-the-fences moment with Ricardo Lamas from 2016 – only this time with an alternate ending. Holloway knocked Gaethje unconscious with a massive overhand right.

Holloway, 32, extends his winning streak to three, a stretch that also includes victories over Arnold Allen and Chan Sung Jung.

Gaethje, 35, has a two-fight winning streak snapped. He entered off consecutive victories over Rafael Fiziev and Poirier.

The "BMF" title fight Saturday was the third in promotion history. The inaugural fight took place at UFC 244 in November 2019 when Jorge Masvidal defeated Nate Diaz. When Masvidal retired from MMA, the title was vacated and claimed by Justin Gaethje when he knocked out Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 in July 2023.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 300 results include:

• Max Holloway def. Justin Gaethje via knockout (punch) – Round 5, 4:59 – to win “BMF” title
• Arman Tsarukyan def. Charles Oliveira via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Bo Nickal def. Cody Brundage submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:38
• Jiri Prochazka def. Aleksandar Rakic via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:17
• Aljamain Sterling def. Calvin Kattar via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Kayla Harrison def. Holly Holm via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:47
• Diego Lopes def. Sodiq Yusuff via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:29
• Renato Moicano def. Jalin Turner via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:11
• Jessica Andrade def. Marina Rodriguez via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Bobby Green def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 29-26)
• Deiveson Figueiredo def. Cody Garbrandt via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:02

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC 300.