Justin Gaethje on his fight for BMF title

By Christopher Reive

The UFC will host its 300th numbered card this weekend and the matchmakers have loaded the event with talent to celebrate the occasion.

As lightweight Justin Gaethje puts it, everyone on the card is there for a good reason.

“It’s huge. If the UFC doesn’t have a lot of respect for you, you’re not going to be in this position,” Gaethje tells the Herald.

“That’s my favorite part about being in there and being on this huge card. It’s monumental. It’s going to go down in the history books and I love being a part of history.”

Gaethje will fight in one of three title bouts on the card when he puts his UFC BMF [baddest motherf***er] title on the line against Max Holloway in a matchup many have circled as the one to watch.

The BMF title came into existence through gimmicky origins, and was thought to only be a one-time thing when Jorge Masvidal won it against Nate Diaz. However, it was brought back last year when Gaethje fought fellow highly-ranked lightweight Dustin Poirier and knocked him out with a head kick in the first round. He is one of 12 current or former UFC champions on the card.

Gaethje says he sees a future for the title as one that allows marquee fights between divisions to happen – within reason.

“Obviously we’re not going to fight guys two weight classes down or two weight classes up,” Gaethje says.

The bout against Holloway will be contested at lightweight [70.3kg], but it sees the former featherweight champion Holloway moving up to fight Gaethje.

For the latter, currently ranked No 2 in the division and hopeful of a shot at Islam Makhachev’s title, it’s a bout that comes with pros and cons.

“At the moment it doesn’t sound as logical,” Gaethje admits. “But back when the fight was scheduled, Makhachev didn’t fight in February, I was expecting that fight in February. That didn’t happen and the one sure way to stay relevant in this fight game is to fight.

“A guy like Max, I can’t turn it down. He’s a future Hall of Famer, a guy that I’ve been watching for a long time and, as he says, bad motherf***ers don’t carry around scales to see how much you weigh.

“I think the last time he fought at 155 [against Poirier in 2019] it was kind of a late replacement. These circumstances are not the same. I think he’s going to be tall, he’s going to be big, he’s going to be strong and he’s going to be pretty much a natural lightweight.”

The milestone has also seen UFC boss Dana White increase the figure of the post-fight bonuses offered by the promotion. At the press conference leading into the event, White said he would bump the usual US$50,000 ($83,000) bonuses to US$300,000.

Fight night bonuses are usually given to the two fighters deemed to have the Fight of the Night (FOTN), with two other Performance of the Night (POTN) bonuses available. However, White doesn’t always stick to that formula, with some cards seeing additional POTN bonuses awarded, or two POTN bonuses replacing the FOTN.

How to watch
For New Zealand audiences, UFC 300 gets under way about 10am on Sunday. The early prelims, comprising four fights, will be broadcast exclusively on the UFC’s streaming service UFC Fight Pass.

The preliminary card starts about midday on UFC Fight Pass, ESPN 2, Sky Open and Sky Sport Now. The main card of five fights is available via pay-per-view from 2pm on Sky Arena and Sky Sport Now for $39.95. The pay-per-view is also available on UFC Fight Pass for $44.95, which includes access to the platform for 24 hours from the start of the event.

Full card
Alex Pereira [c] vs Jamahal Hill [1] - light heavyweight title main event
Zhang Weili [c] vs Yan Xiaonan [1] - strawweight title fight
Justin Gaethje [c] vs Max Holloway [2 at featherweight] - BMF title fight to be contested at lightweight
Charles Oliveira [1] vs Arman Tsarukyan [4] - lightweight
Bo Nickal vs Cody Brundage - middleweight

Prelims
Jiri Prochazka [2] vs Aleksander Rakic [5] - light heavyweight
Calvin Kattar [8] vs Aljamain Sterling [2 at bantamweight] - featherweight
Holly Holm [5] vs Kayla Harrison - bantamweight
Sodiq Yusuff [13] vs Diego Lopes - featherweight

Early prelims
Jalin Turner [10] vs Renato Moicano [13] - lightweight
Jessica Andrade [4] vs Marina Rodriguez [6] - strawweight
Bobby Green [14] vs Jim Miller - lightweight
Deiveson Figueiredo [8] vs Cody Garbrandt - bantamweight

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission