Kamaru Usman last fought in the octagon when he took on Khamzat Chimaev in a three-round bout. After defending his welterweight title several times in the UFC, Usman is on a three-fight losing streak. Usman is well aware of how things work inside the octagon and what can cause a fight to become lopsided. He recently gave his take on what caused Justin Gaethje to lose his bout against Max Holoway at the UFC 300.
Gaethje was the favorite going into the matchup but was knocked out in the final round.
Kamaru Usman on UFC 300’s BMF bout
The fight between Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje was supposed to be a spectacular affair. It didn’t disappoint in terms of entertainment. Gaethje was put to sleep in the final minute of the final round. Max Holloway is now the BMF champion in the company. Justin’s teammate Kamaru Usman recently explained why he thinks Gaethje lost the fight. Usman said,
We can’t shy away from the fact that this man took the kick to the nose. Was it the end of the first round, just seconds left or if not zero time left, took that kick to the nose, which plays a huge, huge part in potentially moving on in the fight because now you can’t breathe the way you want to breathe in that fight.
And on top of that, we have to see the two eye pokes. I mean, they were clear-cut legit eye pokes, and it wasn’t that Max was doing it maliciously or on purpose. They happened, and these are the type of things that can alter the outcome of a fight.
Usman quickly pointed out that Justin was a victim of a broken nose in the first round and couldn’t inhale properly. Apart from the broken nose, Gaethje also suffered greatly from the multiple eye pokes he had from Max Holloway in the second round. Gaethje was a natural lightweight, the heavy favorite going into the fight. Folks were not expecting Max to jump up to the lightweight division and win the battle in great fashion. Holloway now sits in the number ninth position in the lightweight division.
Justin Gaethje will now need to wait a few months to fight again in the company’s lightweight division. Gaethje has been sitting at the top of the lightweight rankings in the UFC for many years now. Gaethje remains an absolute favorite in the world of MMA, and the fans will be more than happy to see the Highlight back in the octagon, having a go at the championship title. It’ll be interesting to see how the lightweight division shapes up in the near future.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral MMA stories via Google! Follow Us
ALSO READ: UFC 300: “Holloway Did 5 Fights” Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev Fires Back at Max Holloway
