Israel Adesanya advises Max Holloway on how to upset Justin Gaethje at UFC 300

Israel Adesanya has revealed a clear path to victory for Max Holloway against BMF titleholder Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.

Holloway will challenge Gaethje in a five-round main card bout at UFC 300 this weekend in Las Vegas. It’ll be Holloway’s second UFC lightweight appearance after falling short against Dustin Poirier in his lightweight debut at UFC 236.

Despite his long, accomplished run in the UFC featherweight division, Holloway enters UFC 300 as a significant betting underdog against Gaethje. While the fight is expected to be entertaining for as long as it lasts, few are giving Holloway a shot to get the BMF belt.

But, Adesanya thinks Holloway’s path to an upset is clearer than most are led to believe.

Israel Adesanya points out advantage Max Holloway will have vs. Justin Gaethje

During a recent segment on his FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Adesanya advised Holloway to utilize his defensive tactics.

“Max has I think better defense than Gaethje,” Adesanya said of Holloway. “If he implements that from the beginning, head movement, all of that stuff, I think Max can get him to swing, drag his attacks out, counter, and build off of that.”

Adesanya then picked Holloway to get the nod at UFC 300.

“I’m gonna go Max, by decision,” Adesanya shared.

Adesanya isn’t the only City Kickboxing standout to pick Holloway to beat Gaethje. Alexander Volkanovski is also siding with Holloway, despite defeating him three times in their UFC careers.

Holloway enters the Gaethje fight with a lot of momentum after 2023 wins over Arnold Allen and The Korean Zombie. Gaethje won the then-vacant BMF belt by defeating Poirier at UFC 291 last year.

Some were surprised at Holloway returning to the lightweight division instead of challenging the newly-crowned featherweight king Ilia Topuria. He could potentially earn a featherweight title shot, regardless of his performance at UFC 300.

Adesanya feels if Holloway takes a smart approach to the Octagon, he could put on another highlight performance and add another belt to his résumé.