UFC: Justin Gaethje vs Max Holloway BMF Title Fight Betting Details & Preview

If you love striking, Justin Gaethje vs Max Holloway is one of the best matchups you can get on paper. Both these fighters are ranked in the top two in their division and prefer to keep fights standing. Not only do they keep fights on their feet more often than not, they also win. They will fight for the BMF title, and fights like this could add a ton of prestige to the belt. This is easily one of the best fights on the UFC 300 card.

Fight details

Justin Gaethje will fight Max Holloway for the BMF title at UFC 300 in Las Vegas on April 13. This bout will be fought at lightweight, the 155-pound division. Holloway will move up in weight, from featherweight, for this fight. Gaethje is the betting favourite heading into his first BMF title defence on the UFC betting sites. Gaethje has -210 odds to win the fight on Sports Interaction. Holloway is the early underdog at the moment. Holloway was +175 odds to win the fight.

Gaethje is the number two ranked lightweight in the UFC. He has a 25-4 professional MMA record. Holloway is the number two ranked featherweight in the UFC and ranked at 14 on the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings list. He has a 25-7 professional MMA record. Both fighters are on a two-fight winning streak.

A lil' friendly face off for the fans?! #UFC300 🥹@Justin_Gaethje & @BlessedMMA pic.twitter.com/xPYpvj5rPg

— UFC (@ufc) February 17, 2024

Max “Blessed” Holloway

The lightweight division is something that Max Holloway is familiar with. He fought Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight championship at UFC 236 in 2019. Holloway lost that fight by unanimous decision. This will be his first fight in the lightweight division since then. And this is exactly the kind of fight Holloway seems to live for. Holloway is recognized as one of the best, if not the best, boxers in the UFC. But his biggest weapon in this fight might be his strong chin.

Gaethje has been able to hurt a lot of his opponents and has six KO/TKO victories in the UFC so far. Holloway has never been knocked out in the octagon and was stopped only once, a submission loss to Poirier in 2012. If Holloway is as durable at lightweight as he usually is at featherweight, Gaethje will be in for a long fight. The fight will probably come down to which fighter wins the striking battle. Holloway proved that he still has knockout power in his last fight against the Korean Zombie. He should be stronger at 155 pounds, so his power could be a factor. Holloway will be fighting outside of his division, but this is the kind of fight that he wants.

Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje

Gaethje won the BMF title at UFC 291 by knocking out Dustin Poirier with a heavy kick to the head that left him lying in the middle of the octagon. Now he is back to defend the belt for the first time. A win against Holloway, 14th on the pound-for-pound rankings list, might be enough to land Gaethje a spot on the list, probably Holloway’s spot. Like his opponent, Gaethje prefers to keep fights standing and is more than willing to trade strikes. Gaethje fights at lightweight, so this is his division, another reason Gaethje should be comfortable in this fight.

One of the biggest concerns for Gaethje in this bout is whether or not he will be able to outstrike Holloway for an entire fight, assuming Holloway is durable enough to handle his power. Gaethje has proven to be one of the better strikers in the lightweight division, but his power has been a huge part of his striking success. Gaethje should have enough power to hurt Holloway, but he will need to consistently beat Holloway in the striking exchanges for the entire fight if he can’t stop him. Holloway has shown the ability to strike with almost anyone he steps into the octagon with. Not many peop have gotten the better of him in the striking department over the last decade. Can Gaethje?