Max Holloway's massive KO helps UFC 300 exceed expectations

Yahoo Sports MMA contributor Ben Fowlkes recaps a historic UFC 300.

Video Transcript

- Ben Fowlkes here for Yahoo Sports. UFC 300 has just wrapped up. I'm here in the press room after the press conference, and I think we can go ahead and say it now-- that was, in fact, the single greatest night of fights in combat sports history.

Now, a lot of that credit has to go to the UFC. They put together this card. They told us that they wanted to make it the best centennial event they'd ever had Didn't have any blockbuster names in the main event. Didn't matter because the UFC has such a deep roster that they could call on-- had so many great fights lined up that they knew altogether it would be an incredible night.

And it was, but a lot of the credit also has to go to one man, and that's Max Holloway because he took the risk here. He went up in weight for the BMF title fight with Justin Gaethje. He looked phenomenal in the fight-- was picking Gaethje apart-- was clearly cruising to a decision there. Could have just ridden out the last minute of it. Instead, he takes those last ten seconds and tells Justin Gaethje, meet me in the middle of the cage. Let's go toe to toe to close it out.

Now, strategically, that's basically a blunder. It's kind of the only way Justin Gaethje had a chance at winning that fight. Instead, Max Holloway gives him that opportunity and lands his own right hand, knocks Justin Gaethje clean out. One of the wildest finishes we had ever seen to an already wild fight.

And honestly, that was just one of the fights on the card for UFC 300, one of those rare events that shows you that sometimes, all those oversold "fight of the century" type promises, they actually do end up coming true.

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