"He has a vibranium leg" - Max Holloway praises Justin Gaethje's kicking power using hilarious 'Black Panther' reference
Max Holloway recently commended Justin Gaethje's kicking ability with an amusing reference to 'Black Panther'.
Earlier this month, Holloway stunned everyone with a last-second knockout win against Gaethje at UFC 300, clinching the honorary 'BMF' title and leaving the MMA community in awe of his remarkable performance.
Despite clearly leading on the scorecards, 'Blessed' gestured towards the canvas, urging Gaethje to meet him in the center of the octagon for one last exchange in the closing moments of the fight.
The sequence ended in a knockout, causing 'The Highlight' to crumple onto the canvas with just one second left in the fifth and final round.
Although the former featherweight champion emerged victorious in dominant fashion, he did endure some brutal leg kicks from Gaethje during the bout. Holloway has now revealed the extent of the damage inflicted by the leg kicks, displaying significant bruising and swelling.
During a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience (via Championship Rounds), 'Blessed' reflected on the effects of leg kicks and humorously suggested that the former interim lightweight champion must have acquired his kicking abilities from Wakanda:
"This guy [Gaethje] kicks hard as sh*t. I like to say my chin is made out of vibranium, brother he has a vibranium leg. He went to Wakanda too? I was thinking to myself. I thought I only got to go to Wakanda."
Check out Max Holloway's comments below:
Vibranium is a fictional metal featured in Marvel Comics which possesses remarkable properties such as the ability to absorb, retain, and release vast amounts of kinetic energy.
It is exclusively mined in the kingdom of Wakanda and is closely linked with iconic characters like 'Black Panther', who dons a vibranium suit and 'Captain America', who is known for his vibranium/steel alloy shield.
Max Holloway acknowledges Justin Gaethje's deserved knockdown credit at UFC 300
Max Holloway boasts an impressive statistic: throughout his 29-fight UFC career, he has never been knocked down.
However, during his bout with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, a powerful shot in the fourth round momentarily seemed to stagger Holloway, though it wasn't officially recorded as a knockdown. ESPN later confirmed that Holloway's durability remained unchallenged.
During the same episode of Joe Rogan's podcast, Holloway contested the fight's record-keeping and expressed his desire to acknowledge 'The Highlight' appropriately:
"It didn’t count as a drop, which is crazy. ESPN is posting and saying in however many fights I’m with the UFC, I still didn’t get dropped. That’s some bullsh*t. Give Justin that one. I’ll take it but I wouldn’t be a man sitting here and telling you that he didn’t." [h/t MMA Fighting]