Max Holloway hits back at critics for doubting him before UFC 300 triumph over Justin Gaethje: "A lot of people laughed at me"
Max Holloway was acutely aware of how many people thought he didn't stand a chance against Justin Gaethje in the build-up to their bout.
The UFC 300 knockout he would eventually secure is a truly iconic moment with the buzzer beater faceplant KO of the former interim UFC lightweight champion having some forgetting how much of an underdog Holloway was seen as leading into the April card.
'Blessed' was recently speaking to Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA to discuss the perceptions in the build up for that BMF title fight. When addressing this fight and his path back toward featherweight gold, Holloway said:
"Before going into [UFC] 300, all I had to do. I mean all we had to do even after the Volk III fight was just keep winning. The word I kept telling you before was undeniable. Be undeniable is all we had to do. A lot of people laughed at me. A lot of people told me I shouldn't change weight, a lot of people told me I should have retired after that third Volk fight."
He added:
"But I knew. I knew how good I was, I knew what I had to do. I'm not scared of hard work. Like I said, you guys knew my story. I fought a who's who on my way to my first title shot."
Check out Max Holloway discussing the UFC 300 pre-fight discourse below (3:08):
Max Holloway and what that UFC 300 victory did for him
Max Holloway captured the BMF title at UFC 300 with that massive victory but it also garnered rankings spots concurrently in two UFC weight categories. He is currently the number two ranked contender at featherweight and the number nine ranked contender at lightweight.
This place in the 155-pound hierarchy becomes a bit curious as Justin Gaethje is ranked at number three despite losing in a dramatic fashion to Holloway.
In any event, the 32-year-old has a ton of options and this exists across multiple weight categories for the foreseeable future. The viral finish also has catapulted him into an even greater level of superstar status than he had ever experienced prior.
Max Holloway has his next in-cage assignment locked in which provides him an opportunity to once again scale the top of the mountain at 145 pounds. The former UFC featherweight champion will collide with the current kingpin of the weight category as Holloway contends for Ilia Topuria's belt. This contest will serve as the pay-per-view headliner for UFC 308 which takes place on Oct. 26.
The native of Hawaii takes on an undefeated mixed martial artist here at the top of his game but as mentioned, Max Holloway has a history of rising to the biggest challenges available.