MMA Fighting’s 2024 Knockout of the Year: Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje

Max Holloway isn’t any stranger to creating viral moments that find yourself on a spotlight reel.

Maybe the second that beforehand outlined him finest got here again in 2016 when the previous featherweight king famously pointed to the bottom and invited Ricardo Lamas to throw down with him in an epic brawl to shut out their battle at UFC 199. However Holloway’s repeat efficiency with that very same transfer at UFC 300 would possibly go down as essentially the most beautiful end within the historical past of the game.

Caught in limbo at 145 kilos following a trio of losses to then champion Alexander Volkanovski, Holloway had already bounced again with spectacular wins over “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and Arnold Allen, however an invite to compete on the historic UFC 300 card in a “BMF” title battle in opposition to Justin Gaethje was a proposal he simply couldn’t refuse.

The battle required Holloway to return to the light-weight division and that gave him the chance to make up for previous errors after he failed to really get his physique able to compete at 155 kilos when he confronted Dustin Poirier in an interim title bout again in 2019. This time round, Holloway packed on extra muscle and dimension to cope with a human wrecking ball like Gaethje, who’s well-known for placing a lot harm on his opponents that beating him nonetheless finally ends up feeling like a loss 24 hours later.

Arguably crucial strike within the battle occurred within the opening spherical when Holloway threw a blinding spinning again kick that slammed into Gaethje’s nostril and left him struggling to gasp for air for the subsequent 20 minutes. Whereas Gaethje recovered effectively sufficient to placed on an entertaining affair, Holloway largely managed the motion along with his high-volume placing assault and relentless strain.

Cruising in direction of a unanimous choice win, Holloway noticed the seconds ticking down on the clock within the fifth and ultimate spherical and he determined to recreate that scene from UFC 199 when he stood within the middle of the octagon, pointed to the bottom, and this time welcomed Gaethje to commerce bombs with him.

Fists began flying and simply earlier than time expired, Holloway uncorked one final punch that blasted Gaethje and despatched him crashing face-first to the canvas. Holloway roared and the gang at T-Cellular Area in Las Vegas got here unglued.

Even veteran UFC shade commentator Joe Rogan struggled to place phrases collectively to encapsulate the unbelievable knockout as Holloway floored Gaethje with one second left on the clock

“Oh my goodness!” Rogan stated after leaping out of his seat. “Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my god! And he known as for it!”

Within the days, weeks, and months following that jaw-dropping knockout, Holloway admitted it was virtually unavoidable to relive that second time and again.

“I’ve seen it loads,” Holloway informed MMA Preventing about that end. “Lots of people are getting out of hand with these [edits] of them. On the finish of the day, I noticed the traditional clip, I noticed a bunch of loopy [edits] and I’m simply completely happy I bought to be on the fitting aspect of that clip.

“I’ve bought nothing however love for Justin Gaethje. Shout out to him for taking the battle. Preventing on UFC 300, he had the whole lot to lose and nothing to realize and we went on the market and I used to be in a position to have that second on such an enormous card. Simply blessed.”

When the day comes that Holloway lastly calls it a profession, he’ll assuredly earn virtually instantaneous entry into the UFC Corridor of Fame however there’s little doubt that his knockout over Gaethje doubtless serves because the exclamation level to cap off no matter tribute video precedes his eventual acceptance speech. That’s why Holloway’s unreal second serves because the 2024 Knockout of the Yr.

2. Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Not all knockouts are measured equally.

Generally it’s the creativity of the strike that makes a knockout memorable — as an illustration Edson Barboza’s iconic spinning wheel kick to complete Terry Etim. Different instances it’s the influence of a punch or kick that leaves a long-lasting impression — look no additional than Josh Emmett demolishing Bryce Mitchell.

Then there are these knockouts that simply appear to matter extra as a result of the stage, the stakes and the fighters concerned make it that rather more particular. That’s the place Ilia Topuria’s knockout of Alexander Volkanovski matches as a result of it wasn’t the flashiest knockout in historical past, but it surely definitely mattered greater than most.

With an undefeated run by way of the featherweight division together with three wins over Max Holloway, Volkanovski had already outlined himself as among the finest 145-pound fighters in historical past and he was beginning to make a major declare to GOAT standing within the division. None of that appeared to matter a lot to Topuria, who had torn by way of all of his competitors earlier than solidifying himself because the No. 1 contender.

Topuria entered the battle stuffed with confidence and swagger that he may dethrone Volkanovski. He attacked the Australian with relentless aggression from the leap, by no means exhibiting concern and by no means backing down regardless of Volkanovski’s popularity as one of the full fighters on your complete UFC roster.

A robust begin within the first spherical led to Topuria coming after Volkanovski much more within the second and he simply appeared to know the end was coming his means. Topuria marched Volkanovski down with punches and he ended up connecting with a flurry that put the champion on his heels.

From there, Topuria fired off photographs in succession with Volkanovski lastly wilting from the barrage as he crumbled to the canvas. Topuria instantly celebrated his win as he turned UFC champion and added Volkanovski’s identify to his rising listing of knockout victims.

3. Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway

Bear in mind the whole lot about how some knockouts simply matter extra? Properly repeat that for Ilia Topuria’s second entry on this listing after he turned the primary particular person in historical past to complete Max Holloway with strikes.

Following his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, Holloway declared that he needed nothing greater than to return to featherweight with an opportunity to reclaim his title now that Topuria was champion. Holloway revered Topuria’s energy, precision and lethal knockout potential however the Hawaiian was assured he may climate any storm and ship one other historic victory.

Topuria had different concepts.

Whereas the motion performed out in back-and-forth style early, Topuria all the time appeared like he was simply inches away from connecting with a punch that might finish the battle. That second lastly got here within the third spherical when Topuria unloaded a brutal proper hand that rattled and wobbled Holloway.

Topuria continued his pursuit till he discovered a gap for an enormous left hand that whipped Holloway’s head round, placing him down and out for the primary time in his profession.

In a yr crammed with nice moments for Topuria, changing into the primary particular person to ever knock out Holloway is definitely an accolade he’ll by no means, ever neglect.

4. Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan

There’s been an terrible lot of hype surrounding Shara “Bullet” Magomedov ever since he first arrived within the UFC and whereas he’s performed nothing to dissuade the notion that he may probably change into a champion sooner or later, his knockout at UFC 308 put him in a class all his personal.

Well-known for his nasty kicking recreation, Magomedov was already irritating Petrosyan with the number of his assaults all through the primary spherical of their battle. Magomedov’s poise and endurance continued to pay dividends with Petrosyan struggling to get inside with the lengthy, rangy fighter from Dagestan simply choosing and selecting his photographs.

With time working out within the second spherical, Magomedov continued to maintain Petrosyan at bay along with his kicks however then he determined to throw one of the unorthodox combos that led to the end. As Petrosyan moved ahead making an attempt to keep away from extra of these kicks, Magomedov launched a spinning again fist that clubbed his opponent straight within the jaw.

A break up second later, Magomedov threw one other spinning backfist from the opposite path and this one slammed residence on Petrosyan’s chin earlier than he fell to the bottom to finish the battle. It took a number of replays to totally perceive what simply occurred as Magomedov secured the first-ever—and probably solely— double spinning backfist knockout in UFC historical past.

5. Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill

If not for Max Holloway pointing on the floor earlier than snuffing Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, Alex Pereira would most likely personal the most effective second of 2024 after waving off referee Herb Dean following a low blow after which demolishing Jamahal Hill simply seconds later.

It was fairly the yr for Pereira after he saved the UFC’s bacon on multiple event. However the first favor he did for the promotion got here again in April when he stepped into the primary occasion at UFC 300 on comparatively brief discover. Initially, Pereira was imagined to return a month later when the UFC landed in his native Brazil however he didn’t blink when requested to face Hill on the historic card.

Properly referred to as one of the deadly strikers on the planet, Pereira’s calm and composure is sort of disarming as he usually marches down his opposition and simply waits for the second to place any individual’s lights out. Whereas he was cautious in opposition to Hill, who additionally has great ending energy, Pereira was nonetheless mashing down the fuel pedal simply ready for the fitting second to blow up ahead with a possible fight-finishing mixture.

The time got here after Hill unintentionally clipped Pereira with a low blow however simply as Dean was able to pause the motion for a foul, the UFC gentle heavyweight champion waved him off to proceed combating. That’s when Pereira leapt ahead with an enormous hook that discovered a house on Hill’s chin as he stumbled and fell like a pile of bricks collapsing to the canvas.

With the battle over, Pereira capped off his win by motioning down at Hill as if to say “simply have a look at what I did to this man” earlier than he really started his celebration. Pereira ended up delivering two extra knockouts and title defenses in 2024, however this was an all-timer to cap off the historic UFC 300 card.

Right here is how voting for MMA Preventing’s 2024 Knockout of the Yr performed out

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