The last thing Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje needed for their lightweight fight on Saturday was more motivation to knock each other out.
They got that financially at Thursday’s UFC 300 press conference in Las Vegas.
The fight for the BMF title, a belt not recognized as an official championship but rather a way of celebrating the winner as the toughest fighter regardless of division, was put together between two of the most exciting, active, fearless strikers the organization has ever had.
It was already expected to be a fight of the night contender, but now the two fighters have the added motivation of UFC President Dana White announcing that the winners of the bonuses handed out on Saturday will earn $300,000 instead of the traditional $50,000 given to fight of the night and performance of the night winners.
“Now that there’s $300K on the line, oh my gosh, it’s going to be even more violent,” Holloway said Thursday. “I can’t wait for it.”
Holloway and Gaethje will fight on the main card of UFC 300 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between champion Alex Pereira and Jamahal Hill.
Women’s strawweight champion Zhang Weili of China will defend her title against fellow countrywoman Yan Xiaonan in the co-main event.
The fight card is loaded from top to bottom as the UFC celebrates its 300th pay-per-view event, with Holloway moving up in weight for the second time since he first held the UFC featherweight championship in 2016.
The fight with Gaethje on paper should be the most exciting bout on the card.
Holloway (25-7, 21-7 UFC) has won 10 fight bonuses in his 28 UFC bouts.
Gaethje (25-4, 8-4) has won a fight bonus in 10 of his 12 UFC fights, including his win over Tony Ferguson to claim the interim UFC lightweight championship.
“He’s an absolute warrior. That’s why I’ve loved eating every single one of his fights,” Gaethje said of Holloway on Thursday. “I’ve got the perfect dance partner. We’re both going to go out there and try to hurt each other. I don’t care how much he likes me or I like him, our job is to (expletive) hurt each other, and that’s what we’re here for.”
Eight of the 13 fights on the card, which begins at noon, include at least one fighter ranked in the top five of a division.
Holloway, who has won four of his past five fights, will fight at 155 pounds for the first time since losing to Dustin Poirier by unanimous decision for the interim UFC lightweight title in April 2019.
He took that fight on shorter notice than this one.
“That Dustin fight, it is what it is, my manager is calling me ‘Muffin Top Max’ this whole camp,” Holloway said Wednesday. “At the end of the day that’s what it was for this fight. We wanted to put on the right weight. We wanted to be smart. We wanted to be strong, but we still wanted to be fast. I think we found a very even ground.”
Gaethje won the BMF title in his last fight when he knocked out Poirier in the second round last summer.
Poirier is the only fighter not named Alexander Volkanovski to beat Holloway since Conor McGregor in 2013.
Gaethje called himself the most exciting fighter in the UFC while also saying Holloway is the most durable fighter he’s ever faced.
Holloway has never been knocked down with a strike in his UFC career. Six of his seven UFC losses are by decision. He was submitted once.
“I’m just excited to be sharing the octagon with him come UFC 300 on a big event like this,” Holloway said. “Being the people’s main event already … every time I see an ad for UFC 300 it’s me and Justin.”
This is the third time the BMF belt has been recognized for a UFC fight. It began in 2019 when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson put the belt on Jorge Masvidal after he defeated Nate Diaz.
UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman, who recently had a near-death experience saving his family from a house fire, is expected to put the belt around the waist of the winner of Saturday’s fight.
The five-fight PPV broadcast begins at 4 p.m. The entire event starts at noon and is available streaming on ESPN+.
