Max Holloway Calls ‘BS’ on UFC Stats, Credits Justin Gaethje with First-Ever Knockdown

Holloway revisits his fourth round scare with Gaethje: "It didn't count as a drop, which is crazy."

Apr 13, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Max Holloway (blue gloves) fights Justin Gaethje (red gloves) / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

UFC 300's Justin Gaethje is due some respect.

Former UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway had one of the most incredible performances of his illustrious career when he went up weight class to fight the BMF titleholder. Holloway would have his way with Gaethje in most of their striking exchanges before putting his lights out in a last-second slugfest.

Had the fight gone to the decision instead of ending in an iconic KO, "Blessed" would've likely won every round except for one. In round 4, Gaethje started to finally find his groove against Holloway, dropping him with a punch. It was the rarest of occurrences, as Holloway has never been knocked down in his 29-fight UFC career.

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The seemingly unbreakable Holloway didn't succumb to Gaethje's lightweight power as he sprung back up to his feet and returned the next round to finish a nearly perfect fight for him.

"I keep hearing the talk about, 'His chin gotta go this time...' When the hell is my chin– my chin was supposed to go the last 20 fights. Like what are you guys talking about?" Holloway said on The Joe Rogan Experience.

Following the fight, it turned out that Gaethje's knockdown of Holloway wasn't a knockdown at all — at least, according to the UFC's official statistics. The new BMF Champion believes Gaethje should be accredited with being the first fighter to him down in the Octagon.

"It didn't count as a drop, which is crazy," Holloway said. "ESPN is like posting it, saying like, in however many fights I'm with the UFC, I stayed there and didn't get dropped. I'm like, that's some bulls***. Get Justin [Gaethje] down. I'll take it, you know what I mean? I wouldn't be a man sitting here and telling you that I didn't [get dropped]."

Facing a gauntlet of champions and contenders in the past, Holloway relives what it was like to be dropped by a powerhouse like Justin Gaethje.

"I remember getting hit by that punch and then like I sat and then I came back up. I was like, what the f*** did he just hit me with? I was like, holy s***. I was like, that was a good punch. And then when I rewatched it, he hit me like right on the top of my dome. I was like, holy smack brother. This guy smacks.

"I was fine," Holloway recalled the moment in round 4. "As soon as I got up, it was one of those like, boom, the legs just give out. Like, I was still there even when I was standing, I was looking at 'em. But, I don't know how that didn't count as a drop, I don't know what they count as a drop. That was crazy."

While the knockdown may not be reflected in the record books, Justin Gaethje isn't going to throw a fit about 'semantics' from his UFC 300 war against Max Holloway.

"I think when this fight goes into the UFC Hall of Fame as one of the best fights of the year, It'll be known that we both dropped each other," Gaethje told MMA Knockout's Mathew Riddle in a recent interview. "But he put me to sleep. There's no top of that. So, he was definitely the winner. And I'm not going to get angry about semantics. I think that obviously, he went down from a strike, but it is what it is."

Should Justin Gaethje be awarded credit for knocking down Max Holloway?

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