Kamaru Usman claims eye pokes from Max Holloway altered outcome of Justin Gaethje fight at UFC 300

Former P4P and welterweight king Kamaru Usman has his own MMA weekly show with Olympian and former champ Henry Cejudo. The Pound 4 Pound podcast covers many topics. Consequently, no other topic is as hot as Max Holloway‘s victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ weighed in on what went wrong for Gaethje.

Max Holloway, the 22-7 UFC featherweight mainstay, delivered an iconic last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje at the 4.59 mark. Moreover, he called on Gaethje to trade blows in the center in the last few seconds of their scrap. Notwithstanding the buzzer-beating all-time violent knockdown, he was dominant throughout, working his way to a decision win. Usman revealed a key talking point that everyone missed or forgot about.

I thought he could have made some adjustments to where – he is a wrestler, had Justin changed levels and took Max down once or twice. We can’t shy away from the fact that this man, he took that kick to the nose at the end of the first round…plays a huge part… On top of that, we have to see the two eye-pokes, I mean they were clear-cut, legit eye-poke.

Kamaru Usman on the 10th Episode of Pound 4 Pound Podcast

As an All-American, Justin Gaethje is quite the wrestler. Hence, close friend Kamaru Usman validates that close-ranged grapples and takedowns might have worked in his favor. While he did become the only fighter to knock down Holloway in Round 4, it did not register. With it not being an isometric “ground” position stretch, ‘Blessed’ remains undefeated in his knockdown stats.

Moreover, Usman mentions to Henry Cejudo that ‘The Highlight’ kept isolating back and leaning into Holloway’s strikes. A spinning heel kick had caught him in the nose in the final seconds of Round 1. Alongside he also received two consecutive eye-pokes in the next. The eye poke did affect Gaethje, but he did not change his approach to fighting Holloway, which ultimately cost him the bout.

Kamaru Usman says he has been in Justin Gaethje’s shoes after the viral UFC 300 knockout

Justin Gaethje lost out on his BMF title at UFC 300 against Max Holloway. In their recent podcast, Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo touched on the enormous PPV card and Gaethje’s knockout loss. Usman weighed in that three factors changed his friend’s outcome from the get-go.

Gaethje trailed on two of the three judges’ scorecards. Usman believed that he should have mixed in a little wrestling to try and throw Holloway out of his rhythm. Second and third, he believes a busted nose and eye pokes resulted in him slowing down more. Moreover, he told ‘Triple C’ that he knows the feeling all too well.

I take nothing from Max Holloway...This is a tough one, because I love Max as a fan, [love him] as a guy...But it definitely hurt watching my brother go down like that...It stunned big time! Now I understand the position I put them [the fans] in, two years ago. In Salt Late City, Utah...

Kamaru Usman on the 10th Episode of Pound 4 Pound Podcast

Current welterweight king Leon Edwards had stopped Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) with a sensational head-kick KO in the last minute of UFC 278. While their rematch wasn’t as marginal as UFC 300, the knockout is still etched in history as a major upset over Usman. A knockout as devastating as these have changed the trajectory of the fighters. Only time will tell if Gaethje returns to peak form and compete for another title.

In case you missed it:

• “Guy kicks like a donkey or something!” Max Holloway hilariously reveals experience fighting Justin Gaethje at UFC 300
• “Threw you like a sack of potatoes!” Kamaru Usman trolls Henry Cejudo for getting carried by Merab Dvalishvili

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