Cory Sandhagen reflects on Max Holloway's "wild" knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300
Cory Sandhagen helped Justin Gaethje in preparation for his BMF title fight with Max Holloway at the prestigious UFC 300 event. The clash was one of three title fights'on the card, and the much anticipated fight certainly delivered.
'Blessed' spoke confidently about how he felt ahead of his return to lightweight for the first time since his short-notice interim title fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 236. But Gaethje appeared to be entering the prime of his career, coming off of a KO win over Poirier at UFC 291, and fans were weary of Holloway's chances of victory.
On the night, the Hawaiian proved all doubters wrong, delivering arguably the best performance of his career as he dominated most of the fight. Having hurt 'The Highlight' several times during the clash, Holloway topped it off by knocking him out with one second left in the bout.
The finish has been dubbed by many as the greatest knockout in MMA history, and during a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, 'The Sandman' shared his thoughts on the result. He said:
"It took my breath away for a couple of days, dude. I haven't had my breath taken away like that for a couple days. That was wild. Maybe one of the most memorable moments ever... Gaethje is an unshakeable guy, Gaethje is a guy that I really, really look up to as a competitor and also his personality."
Check out Cory Sandhagen's comments below (23:30):
Cory Sandhagen previews his clash with Umar Nurmagomedov
Cory Sandhagen will finally get the chance to face Umar Nurmagomedov, a challenge he has looked forward to solving since the pair were scheduled to fight in August, 2023.
Nurmagomedov withdrew from their UFC Nashville main event bout due to a shoulder injury, and following a return to the octagon against Bekzat Almakhan, the Dagestani will now face 'The Sandman' at UFC Abu Dhabi.
During a recent interview with Demetrious Johnson, the American previewed his upcoming fight, saying this:
"I get a real kick on figuring out how to beat these really good athletes and how to beat these guys, like the Nurmagomedov family has zero losses. I was really excited for the challenge to actually go out and figure out that problem, because he does have a super unique style to him, too. I felt like I had the answer to the problem."
Watch Cory Sandhagen's interview below from 7:15: