Sherdog’s 2024 Fight of the Year

Rare are the modern-day gladiators who would have found comfort in hand-to-hand combat across any time period throughout all of human history. Rarer still are the moments when they meet head-on with no inhibitions to determine the last man standing. So it was that Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje locked horns in a UFC 300 lightweight showcase for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s symbolic BMF title on April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. They combined to land 284 significant strikes against one another, nearly all of them with ill intent, and after 24 minutes and 58 seconds of pure human drama, a single punch brought Sherdog’s 2024 “Fight of the Year” to its breathtaking conclusion. If only it could have taken place inside the Colosseum in ancient Rome. What a sight it would have been.

A blow-by-blow account as documented by Jay Pettry, Sherdog’s most prolific wordsmith:

ROUND 1

Buckle up. The first strike, likely of many, comes from Holloway, who jabs the midsection and kicks it with his opposite leg. Gaethje bears down on him and loads up on an overhand right, missing the Hawaiian by inches. Gaethje sits down on a leg kick, and Holloway flicks out jabs to the body and head. Holloway pops a low kick on the thigh, and Gaethje hammers one back. Holloway sits down on a low kick and drives forward while launching uppercuts. Gaethje slips back and knocks Holloway to his seat with a vicious calf kick. Holloway climbs back to his feet without issue and bites on a feint from the BMF titleholder. Holloway strides in and lances a left hand down the middle, and Gaethje unloads and fires two big hooks. Holloway scores with a clean uppercut, and he meets Gaethje in the middle and cracks him with another uppercut and a strong left hook. Gaethje keeps a solid poker face but had his bell rung in the exchange, and Holloway does not draw himself into a reckless firefight and instead measures with a front kick. Holloway prods with a left hand and intercepts an advancing Gaethje; he ignores a leg kick to mark up Gaethje’s nose. Chants for Holloway boom inside the T-Mobile Arena, and he pokes out a leg kick and keeps moving, rarely staying in the same place so as to not put himself in harm’s way. Holloway checks a kick, and he tosses out a half-hearted high kick. Gaethje responds with one that bounces off the shoulder, and Holloway nods at him. Holloway just misses on an uppercut, and he chips away at the front leg with two kicks to the knee. Holloway checks another kick and unleashes a left and a stern right hand, while Gaethje chambers and fires a massive right hand that skims past the cheek. Holloway lunges forward with a right hand to the body, and Gaethje stumbles but gets back upright. Holloway high-fives him to make sure he is good to go. Gaethje is fine. Holloway jabs with his foot, and a spin kick on the nose sends Gaethje flying. As the cage door opens to bring in corners for the respite between rounds, Gaethje nearly falls out of the cage itself. Gaethje adjusts his nose, which might have suffered some damage from the kick, as the tense round ends.

ROUND 2

Gaethje appears overly concerned about his nose to begin the round, and it starts tentatively between the two. As Holloway sticks out a few jabs, blood streams from his counterpart’s nose, and Gaethje is not happy about it. Gaethje loads up on a huge right hand, and Holloway barely slides out of the way in time. Holloway rifles out jabs to the nose, and he chains two together before releasing a high body kick. The crowd is deafening with its calls for Holloway, and Gaethje absorbs a little of the energy to land a powerful leg kick. Holloway gives him one back, and he reaches out to throw hands as Gaethje comes in swinging aggressively. Holloway stretches his finger out, and it jams deep into Gaethje’s eye. Referee Marc Goddard sees it and immediately calls time, but Gaethje is not about to stop because of some eye damage. After about 45 seconds, Gaethje declares he is good to go, and the fighters share a glove touch before getting after it. Gaethje lands a body kick, and Holloway does, too. Gaethje winds up and slings a leg kick that Holloway partially checks. Holloway jabs the body and wraps up a kick that slaps into the former World Series of Fighting champion’s armpit. Gaethje slides to the side and adjusts his nose, and he springs forward with a right hand and a low kick. Holloway stands firm in front of him and continues targeting the body with long punches. Gaethje cuts loose with a right hand as Holloway pokes him again. Holloway immediately apologizes, and Gaethje gets time to recover. Goddard asks Holloway to be careful, and Gaethje is irritated but only takes 20 seconds before getting back to it. Gaethje releases a heavy leg kick, and Holloway can only partially defend against it. Gaethje lashes out with a right and a left, missing the mark by a small margin. Holloway pushes out a teep kick and goes after a jab to the midsection, while Gaethje punishes him with a calf kick at the right time. Holloway raises his leg up a few times to take some of the pain away, and he surges into action with a pair of clean punches. Gaethje gets away with another stunning calf kick, and Holloway reaches him with two punches. Holloway spins with a kick, and he tosses up high a body kick as the two brawl to the conclusion of the round.

ROUND 3

There is a touch of gloves between the fighters to get started. Gaethje parries one punch, but Holloway lands a second to the midsection. Gaethje chops at his front leg, and Holloway pitches two back. Holloway lets go with a right hand to the sternum, and he kicks Holloway in the side and takes one right back. Gaethje whips a kick at him, and it buzzes past his opponent. Holloway has a body kick graze the cup, and Gaethje shakes it off and is fine. Gaethje stabs his toes at the midsection, and Holloway jabs him in the face. When Gaethje advances, Holloway reaches him with a clean uppercut. Gaethje batters the calf with another vicious kick, while Holloway’s do not nearly have the same impact. Gaethje scores a check left hook, and front kicks from both men go flying. Holloway beans Gaethje with a one-two, then blasts him with a spinning back kick that lands on the face. Gaethje tries to fire back, and Holloway chains a number of punches that drop him to a knee. Gaethje climbs back up and swings with bad intentions, and a low kick nearly compromises the former featherweight king as his leg swells badly. Gaethje clears the cobwebs and backs away from a lunging combination, and he ducks down and a spinning back kick catches him flush in the ribs. Gaethje steels himself and eats a right hand, and he marches Holloway down and tries to unleash the thunder. Holloway keeps moving, circling to the right to avoid the worst of the power. Gaethje kicks him in the shoulder, and Holloway comes back throwing with a left hand. Holloway gets in an uppercut, and Gaethje unloads a right hand and a low kick in response. Holloway rips a straight right hand to the midsection, and he releases a right hand that skims past Gaethje’s ear. They clash together when throwing hands violently, and Gaethje gathers himself and checks a leg kick. Gaethje kicks the body, and Holloway does the same to mirror what his opponent does to him. Gaethje releases two more high kicks that are blocked before the bell sounds.

ROUND 4

The championship rounds are reached. They hand fight with one another before Gaethje pushes out a front kick. Holloway doubles up on the same kick, leading Gaethje to slam his shin on the Hawaiian’s swollen calf. Holloway rips a right hand to the midsection, and he kicks on the other side as Gaethje tries to catch it but releases the leg. They trade body shots, and Gaethje whizzes past with a mighty one-two. Holloway lands a body kick and scores two big punches, as Gaethje whirrs into action with a barrage of heavy punches punctuated by two big right hands. Holloway marks up the Safford, Arizona, native’s face and forces Gaethje to buckle so he can work the body. Holloway jabs up the face, continuing to damage Gaethje’s busted nose. Gaethje reels when he absorbs the blows but is more than willing to ruthlessly sling leather back at him. Gaethje chops down the front leg once more, and Holloway slides away from the other blows and lands a few of his own. Gaethje catches the Gracie Technics star standing still, landing several punches in rapid succession before Holloway can get away. “The Highlight” further batters the front leg, and Holloway responds with an accurate uppercut. Gaethje comes up short with a haymaker, allowing Holloway to roll and counter with a right hand. Holloway steps in with a knee and eats the end of a left hand with little effect. Gaethje beats down the front leg, and Holloway ignores the pain to put three punches together to the body and head. Gaethje uncorks a bomb of a right hand and drops Holloway to his seat in what could register as the first knockdown in the future hall of famer’s UFC career. Holloway pops right back up and fights behind his jab, making sure not to eat any unnecessary power shots while landing his own. They both lash out with body kicks, and Gaethje puts out a front kick for good measure. Gaethje smacks Holloway with a left hand, and he stings him with a left and a right before another exciting round wraps.

ROUND 5

A sharp inhale from the attendees inside T-Mobile Arena for what could be a ridiculous fifth and final frame. Gaethje uses his own jab, and Holloway meets him with a head kick that knocks him back several steps. Gaethje ducks a looping left and runs square into an uppercut waiting for him. He pays it no mind and jabs the body, then follows it with a right over the top. Holloway spins with a kick that slides off Gaethje’s body, and he recovers and lines up two punches down Broadway. Gaethje scoops down to the Earth’s core to come up with a ferocious uppercut, and it blazes past Holloway and singes his hair. Holloway attacks, entering vintage “Blessed” mode by chaining together well over a dozen punches to the head and body. Gaethje responds with massive hooks, and Holloway spins with a back kick to the ribs. Gaethje takes a deep breath and allows Holloway to reach him with a right hand. Gaethje swipes out with a left, and Holloway’s spinning back kick again finds its home. Gaethje goes high with a kick that is blocked, and Holloway dings him with a right hand and jumps with a spin kick that catches “The Highlight.” Gaethje sits down on a low kick and jabs out with his hands, and Holloway bloodies his nose with a short blitz. Holloway ducks and digs a right hand to the body and a left to the head. Holloway connects with a solid left on the forehead, and he stomp kicks Gaethje’s knees coming in. Gaethje walks into a spin kick that connects cleanly, and he hits air when Holloway slips away. Holloway unloads with a painful kick to the body, and he strings together a few more punches. Gaethje tries to kick him upside the head, and Holloway blocks it and jumps at him with a knee. Gaethje kicks the lead leg, and Holloway looks to be in trouble after all of the damage he sustained. As Holloway senses that the time has come to power up, he points to the ground and signals that a tremendous brawl is about to ensue. Gaethje meets him in the middle, and with about 15 seconds left, everything they have left is unleashed inside the Octagon. Gaethje slings violently, and Holloway does the same. Both men blast away with hellacious power, knocking one another around the cage in a slugfest perfectly representing the “BMF” name. Holloway ducks down and channels all of his remaining energy into his right fist. “Blessed” releases it and smashes it into Gaethje’s temple, and the Trevor Wittman protege slumps to the ground on his face, completely annihilated. With one second left in a fight that he was likely going to win, Holloway threw all caution to the wind and let the chips fall where they may. Absolutely incredible. Holloway is the baddest motherf----- in the UFC, and he did it in a way that will live forever on highlight reels.

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Some eight months and change later, after one of the UFC’s genuine you-remember-where-you-were moments, many a jaw remains on the floor. It shook even the most seasoned observers to visceral reactions, including the third man in the cage with Holloway and Gaethje at UFC 300. “I literally screamed out at that ending, first time in 20 years,” Goddard said on X. “It was an automatic reaction, I guess. I’m still speechless. Still have goosebumps. Both of these guys are the epitome of our sport. Sheer class. What a privilege.” Both participants were awarded $300,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses, while Holloway banked an additional $300,000 for “Performance of the Night.” Gaethje has not fought since. Holloway, meanwhile, went on to crash and burned against Ilia Topuria in a failed bid to recapture the undisputed UFC featherweight crown, then announced his intention to move to 155 pounds on a full-time basis. Might Holloway-Gaethje 2 come down the pipeline before long? We can only hope.