The clash between Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje at the UFC 300 seems to be a contentious topic, with some seeing it as poor matchmaking while others view it as an absolute masterpie͏c͏e. On April 13, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Justin Gaethje will defend his ‘BMF’ title against former featherweight champion, Max Holloway, in the first title bout of the night. But is this fight fair game?

Max Holloway has a reputation for being one of the best boxers in MMA, while Justin Gaethje is known for being one of the hardest hitters in the Octagon. In this battle of style, grit, and skill, who will come out on top? Or will their size difference negate all those factors? Let’s take ͏a closer look at ͏how these fighters match up against each other.

Justin Gaethje, the human highlight reel

Justin Gaethje is probably one of the best fighters who has never won an undisputed UFC title. The Safford, Arizona native has an MMA record of 25 victories and 4 defeats and was the frontrunner for a lightweight title fight against Islam Makhachev. But for now, Max Holloway remains his prime concern.

Talking about statistics,’ Highlight’ has been a hotshot when it comes to punching power. Despite being a wrestler, 20 of Gaethje’s 25 wins came from knockouts.

Starting his professional career in wrestling, Gaethje was tremendously successful in it, however, ‘Highlight’ seems to have chosen his punching prowess over anything else. With only 1 submission win in his career, Gaethje is one such fighter who does not use any submission tactics in his fighting style.

‘Highlight’ is riding a two-fight winning streak and his last outing against Dustin Poirier was his roar to Dana White for the ‘155’ lbs title fight. However, there was a time when Gaethje was the number one contender for the lightweight title but seems like ‘Highlight’ has been sidelined by the UFC for now.

The relentless Max Holloway

Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway is coming as a fan favorite in his fight against Gaethje., but not the oddsmakers’ favorite. The former UFC featherweight champion has a strong record of 25 victories and 7 losses and is often regarded as one of the best boxers in the promotion. Further, Holloway has an impressive record of 447 total strikes, in a single-fight!

Holloway has won 11 fights out of his 25 victories by way of knockouts and 2 by way of submission. He has a striking accuracy of 47 %. The former champion achieves an average of 0.27 takedowns every 15 minutes. He also boasts a 53 percent accuracy in takedowns and an 84 percent success rate in defending against takedowns. In his UFC fights, he manages an average of 0.3 submissions every 15 minutes.

The clash between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway will be a battle of seasoned strikers. What is the icing on the cake is the fact that Holloway has not been knocked out in any of his fights. Both stars have been in wars of attrition, but Holloway’s chin has held up much better than Gaethje’s. That being said, ‘The Highlight’ has fell bigger game than Holloway with his striking prowess. Who takes this one?

Read More: Alex Pereira vs Jamahal Hill: KO, Stats, and All the Head-to-Head Record of UFC 300 Headliners