Chael Sonnen believes the winner between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway will fight Islam Makhachev next for the UFC lightweight title.
On April 13, Holloway will temporarily leave the featherweight division to face Justin Gaethje at 155 pounds during the UFC 300 pay-per-view main card. The surprising matchup for Gaethje’s BMF title is undoubtedly must-see action, and the stakes could be higher than most people initially imagined.
At UFC 300, another lightweight contender bout will take place between Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan. Although things can change quickly in combat sports, the winner between them is expected to face Makahchev for the UFC 155-pound world title after Ramadan.
During a video posted on his YouTube channel, Chael Sonnen talked about Gaethje vs. Holloway and had this to say about ‘Blessed’ potentially becoming the number-one lightweight contender:
“Justin Gaethje is not just the BMF champion. He is also the number-one contender [at lightweight]. I think that’s very relevant. It’s being talked about that the winner of Charles Oliveira and Arman [Tsarukyan] will be the one that fights Islam [Makhachev]. I push back on that. I resist that, I resist it very much.”
Sonnen continued:
“I believe that Gaethje is the number-one contender, and he’s going to go have business with Max [Holloway], and if Max beats him, Max takes both. He takes the [BMF] belt and the contendership.”
Chael Sonnen compares Max Holloway’s last lightweight fight against Dustin Poirier to his upcoming bout
Max Holloway has spent the majority of his fighting career at featherweight. With that said, Holloway’s upcoming fight against Justin Gaethje won’t be his first Octagon appearance at 155 pounds, as he suffered a unanimous decision loss against Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight title in April 2019.
During the previously mentioned YouTube video, Chael Sonnen compared Holloway’s previous and upcoming lightweight fights by saying:
“Max didn’t love 155. Max went up to 155, he took on [Dustin] Poirier, and Max got beat at his own gym, which was the boxing. Those guys stood, and Max proved he’s tougher than hell and he can go, but he never found his rythmn, Dustin threw him off all night…As soon as I saw this fight announced, I said, well, Gaethje is just too much, too big, too strong, too used to the weight class, too gritty.”
Sonnen continued:
“Gaethje is a very different standup fighter than Poirier. Doing that MMA math, it’s different. Poirier, his hands, and his boxing, they’re so underrated…Justin Gaethje is gritty, and he’s mean, and he’s durable, and he’s tough, and he’s in your face, and he’s workmanlike, but that’s very different. Max is used to dealing with guys like that. I’m just sharing with you that’s a really interesting fight.”
Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje will enter UFC 300 with respective two-fight winning streaks. Holloway defeated Arnold Allen by unanimous decision and ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung by knockout in 2023. Meanwhile, Gaethje found similar success in the calendar year by taking out Rafael Fiziev by majority decision and Dustin Poirier by knockout.
Watch Chael Sonnen discuss Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway below:
