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

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12/26/2024 09:00 AM

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Max Holloway is no stranger to creating viral moments that end up on a highlight reel.

Perhaps the moment that previously defined him best came back in 2016 when the former featherweight king famously pointed to the ground and invited Ricardo Lamas to throw down with him in an epic brawl to close out their fight at UFC 199. But Holloway's repeat performance with that same move at UFC 300 might go down as the most stunning finish in the history of the sport.

Stuck in limbo at 145 pounds following a trio of losses to then champion Alexander Volkanovski, Holloway had already bounced back with impressive wins over "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung and Arnold Allen, but an invitation to compete at the historic UFC 300 card in a "BMF" title fight against Justin Gaethje was an offer he just couldn't refuse.

The fight required Holloway to return to the lightweight division and that gave him the opportunity to make up for past mistakes after he failed to truly get his body ready to compete at 155 pounds when he faced Dustin Poirier in an interim title bout back in 2019. This time around, Holloway packed on more muscle and size to deal with a human wrecking ball like Gaethje, who is well-known for putting so much damage on his opponents that beating him still ends up feeling like a loss 24 hours later.

Arguably the most important strike in the fight happened in the opening round when Holloway threw a dazzling spinning back kick that slammed into Gaethje's nose and left him struggling to gasp for air for the next 20 minutes. While Gaethje recovered well enough to put on an entertaining affair, Holloway largely controlled the action with his high-volume striking attack and relentless pressure.

Cruising towards a unanimous decision win, Holloway saw the seconds ticking down on the clock in the fifth and final round and he decided to recreate that scene from UFC 199 when he stood in the center of the octagon, pointed to the ground, and this time welcomed Gaethje to trade bombs with him.

Fists started flying and just before time expired, Holloway uncorked one last punch that blasted Gaethje and sent him crashing face-first to the canvas. Holloway roared and the crowd at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas came unglued.

Even veteran UFC color commentator Joe Rogan struggled to put words together to encapsulate the unbelievable knockout as Holloway floored Gaethje with one second left on the clock

"Oh my goodness!" Rogan said after jumping out of his seat. "Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Oh my god! And he called for it!"

In the days, weeks, and months following that jaw-dropping knockout, Holloway admitted it was almost unavoidable to relive that moment over and over again.

"I've seen it a lot," Holloway told MMA Fighting about that finish. "A lot of people are getting out of hand with these [edits] of them. At the end of the day, I saw the normal clip, I saw a bunch of crazy [edits] and I'm just happy I got to be on the right side of that clip.

"I've got nothing but love for Justin Gaethje. Shout out to him for taking the fight. Fighting on UFC 300, he had everything to lose and nothing to gain and we went out there and I was able to have that moment on such a big card. Just blessed."

When the day comes that Holloway finally calls it a career, he'll assuredly earn almost instantaneous entry into the UFC Hall of Fame but there's little doubt that his knockout over Gaethje likely serves as the exclamation point to cap off whatever tribute video precedes his eventual acceptance speech. That's why Holloway's unreal moment serves as the 2024 Knockout of the Year.

2. Ilia Topuria vs. Alexander Volkanovski

Not all knockouts are measured equally.

Sometimes it's the creativity of the strike that makes a knockout memorable — for instance Edson Barboza's iconic spinning wheel kick to finish Terry Etim. Other times it's the impact of a punch or kick that leaves a lasting impression — look no further than Josh Emmett demolishing Bryce Mitchell.

Then there are those knockouts that just seem to matter more because the stage, the stakes and the fighters involved make it that much more special. That's where Ilia Topuria's knockout of Alexander Volkanovski fits because it wasn't the flashiest knockout in history, but it certainly mattered more than most.

With an undefeated run through the featherweight division including three wins over Max Holloway, Volkanovski had already defined himself as one of the best 145-pound fighters in history and he was starting to make a significant claim to GOAT status in the division. None of that seemed to matter much to Topuria, who had torn through all of his competition before solidifying himself as the No. 1 contender.

Topuria entered the fight full of confidence and swagger that he could dethrone Volkanovski. He attacked the Australian with relentless aggression from the jump, never showing fear and never backing down despite Volkanovski's reputation as one of the most complete fighters on the entire UFC roster.

A strong start in the first round led to Topuria coming after Volkanovski even more in the second and he just seemed to know the finish was coming his way. 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 shots in succession with Volkanovski finally wilting from the barrage as he crumbled to the canvas. Topuria immediately celebrated his win as he became UFC champion and added Volkanovski's name to his growing list of knockout victims.

3. Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway

Remember everything about how some knockouts just matter more? Well repeat that for Ilia Topuria's second entry on this list after he became the first person in history to finish Max Holloway with strikes.

Following his win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, Holloway declared that he wanted nothing more than to return to featherweight with a chance to reclaim his title now that Topuria was champion. Holloway respected Topuria's power, precision and deadly knockout ability but the Hawaiian was confident he could weather any storm and deliver another historic victory.

Topuria had other ideas.

While the action played out in back-and-forth fashion early, Topuria always seemed like he was just inches away from connecting with a punch that could end the fight. That moment finally came in the third round when Topuria unloaded a brutal right hand that rattled and wobbled Holloway.

Topuria continued his pursuit until he found an opening for a massive left hand that whipped Holloway's head around, putting him down and out for the first time in his career.

In a year filled with great moments for Topuria, becoming the first person to ever knock out Holloway is certainly an accolade he'll never, ever forget.

4. Shara Magomedov vs. Armen Petrosyan

There's been an awful lot of hype surrounding Shara "Bullet" Magomedov ever since he first arrived in the UFC and while he's done nothing to dissuade the notion that he could potentially become a champion one day, his knockout at UFC 308 put him in a category all his own.

Well known for his nasty kicking game, Magomedov was already frustrating Petrosyan with the variety of his attacks throughout the first round of their fight. Magomedov's poise and patience continued to pay dividends with Petrosyan struggling to get inside with the long, rangy fighter from Dagestan just picking and choosing his shots.

With time running out in the second round, Magomedov continued to keep Petrosyan at bay with his kicks but then he decided to throw one of the most unorthodox combinations that led to the finish. As Petrosyan moved forward trying to avoid more of those kicks, Magomedov launched a spinning back fist that clubbed his opponent directly in the jaw.

A split second later, Magomedov threw another spinning backfist from the other direction and this one slammed home on Petrosyan's chin before he fell to the ground to end the fight. It took several replays to fully understand what just happened as Magomedov secured the first-ever—and possibly only— double spinning backfist knockout in UFC history.

5. Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill

If not for Max Holloway pointing at the ground before snuffing Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, Alex Pereira would probably own the best moment of 2024 after waving off referee Herb Dean following a low blow and then demolishing Jamahal Hill just seconds later.

It was quite the year for Pereira after he saved the UFC's bacon on more than one occasion. But the first favor he did for the promotion came back in April when he stepped into the main event at UFC 300 on relatively short notice. Originally, Pereira was supposed to return a month later when the UFC landed in his native Brazil but he didn't blink when asked to face Hill on the historic card.

Well known as one of the most lethal strikers in the world, Pereira's calm and composure is almost disarming as he typically marches down his opposition and just waits for the moment to put somebody's lights out. While he was cautious against Hill, who also has tremendous finishing power, Pereira was still mashing down the gas pedal just waiting for the right moment to explode forward with a potential fight-finishing combination.

The time came after Hill accidentally clipped Pereira with a low blow but just as Dean was ready to pause the action for a foul, the UFC light heavyweight champion waved him off to continue fighting. That's when Pereira leapt forward with a huge hook that found a home on Hill's chin as he stumbled and fell like a pile of bricks collapsing to the canvas.

With the fight over, Pereira capped off his win by motioning down at Hill as if to say "just look at what I did to this guy" before he actually began his celebration. Pereira ended up delivering two more knockouts and title defenses in 2024, but this was an all-timer to cap off the historic UFC 300 card.