In a sport where setting lofty expectations can be considered a jinx, Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje took that narrative and flipped it upside down.
Holloway moved back up to 155 pounds to face a guy like the former interim lightweight and current BMF champ in Gaethje, in the featured bout of the most stacked event in the history of the UFC, is a recipe for greatness.
That’s what this was, a blood and guts show of offense, heart, will, adversity, and all other adjectives like that for 24:59, and then, arguably the most memorable exclamation point of all-time in MMA happened to put this fight over the top. With Holloway - one of the best 145-pound fighters to ever compete - standing over the face-down, unconscious body of “The Highlight” after an iconic knockout.
This was the people’s main event for one big reason: There was just zero chance it would disappoint. Holloway looked absolutely sensational, but I believe what’s lost on the greatness of this battle was the emotion and stress surrounding it during the live watch. If you’re driving a race car for the first time going 200 miles an hour, you’re going to have to deal with an adrenaline rush like no other. However, do it a second time without the pomp and circumstance, you tend to forget about the danger, and enjoy how cool and fantastic the experience actually is.
Gaethje lost some rounds, but he was way more competitive than most are giving him credit for. In fact, one of the judges’ had it scored 38-38 heading into the final round—which during the re-watch seems like a totally acceptable scorecard. Gaethje battled through a shattered nose early to keep fighting his tail off until he couldn’t fight anymore.
In the closing seconds of the spirited affair, Holloway did his infamous point to the canvas to give Gaethje one last shot at snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Unfortunately for Gaethje, Holloway landed the finishing blow that put Gaethje out cold on the mat with just one second left in the fight.
Holloway won the BMF title, and poor Zhang Weili and Yan Xiaonan had to follow it. Impossible.
Side note: This is the fourth time Gaethje has won MMA Fighting’s Fight of the Year. What may be more surprising is that this is Holloway’s first.
Daniel Zellhuber and Esteban Ribovics dazzled in a fight that embodied the spirit of UFC 306, and Noche UFC in September. While the promotion’s debut at Sphere wowed with its production values, the fight card itself was not one many will go back to rewatch. But if there’s one fight fans will go back and watch again and again, it’s this one.
The sport’s best division featured a matchup between two of its top up-and-comers in a matchup many didn’t expect to see for a couple of years until both were in title contention. Instead, fans got to see the 25-year-old Zellhuber and 28-year-old Ribovics tear it up in the middle of the octagon in 2024.
After 10 hard-fought and thrilling minutes, things only got better with the best round of the year in the UFC featuring both fighters getting badly hurt. Check this clip of Jed and I just WATCHING this third round.
In the end, Zellhuber survived the onslaught, and was on the wrong end of a split decision. There were no losers, only winners. Anybody who watched that fight live is a bigger MMA fan than they were heading into it. Kudos, gentlemen!
Dustin Poirier finds his name on this list for both of his 2024 fights. To get to one last crack at UFC gold, “The Diamond” had to face the man positioned as the new demon of the lightweight division in Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299 in Miami.
Not that it matters much for the context of the award, but Poirier did A-plus work across the board here, including raking the UFC over the coals on social media to get a bunch of extra coin in his pocket to take this fight.
It worked, and it was truly brilliant from Poirier.
But what happened just down the street from American Top Team was why we love this sport. Poirier was ravaged by Saint Denis in the first round, but the gritty former interim champ hung around and made it to the second round. Poirier would then badly hurt Saint Denis, jump a few more guillotine attempts, before eventually sending Saint Denis to the mat with absolute savagery to get the upset victory, and also earn his chance to fight for the lightweight title one more time.
And then...
Poirier got his wish and turned around in short order to challenge Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 302 in Newark, N.J. Not many were giving Poirier much of a chance against the pound-for-pound best fighter on Planet Earth, but Poirier dug deep, and gave Makhachev all he could handle on this June night.
To add context to the importance of this fight, UFC 302 was an absolute slog. The card seemed to take forever, and nothing memorable (outside of Kevin Holland nearly ripping a man’s arm off) happened — including the co-main event which saw Sean Strickland defeat Paulo Costa in a fight nobody has watched a second time.
Makhachev vs. Poirier exceeded expectations, and likely saved UFC 302 from being one of the five worst cards in the past five years. Makhachev had success early, but then Poirier started to battle back, stuffing takedowns, or if he did get taken down, he found a way back to his feet to deliver punishment.
Two judges had the fight 39-37 for Makhachev, while one had it tied heading into the fifth and final round. And even though I thought Makhachev was up three rounds to one, at worst, it never felt like Poirier was out of the fight, and that the magical moment would happen.
Instead, we saw Makhachev show his greatness, and Poirier give everything he had until a nasty takedown into a D’Arce choke closed the show. Incredible fight between two all-time great 155-pounders.
I’ll be honest with you, this fight deserves better than the No. 5 spot because it’s absolutely insane. Fourteen knockdowns in total, Lewis McGrillen and Dean Garnett went out there and did the thing.
The thing that hurts the fight was that it took place on a fight card nobody knew was happening, PFL Europe 3.
There’s just no way to put this fight into the correct words outside of craziness. The action never stops. It’s all offense, and not a lick of defense to be found anywhere. It’s just two dudes getting there and throwing caution to the wind, and it’s unbelievable.
Don’t believe me? Watch the full fight below and tell me I’m wrong.
