Kamaru Usman: Max Holloway's eye pokes on Justin Gaethje could've altered UFC 300 outcome

Kamaru Usman says the potential impact of Max Holloway’s eye pokes on Justin Gaethje can’t be ignored.

Usman’s teammate and good friend, Gaethje (25-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC) was mostly dominated and on the receiving end of a last-second knockout in his BMF title fight against Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) this past Saturday at UFC 300.

Holloway landed a spinning back kick at the end of Round 1, which busted Gaethje’s nose. He also inadvertently poked Gaethje twice in the eye, which Usman said had to have negatively impacted him.

“We can’t shy away from the fact that this man took the kick to the nose,” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo. “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.”

Gaethje was down three rounds to one on two of the three judges’ scorecards. Usman thinks he should have mixed in some wrestling to throw Holloway’s rhythm off.

“I think the place where things kind of might have went sideways is making the necessary adjustments in the fight,” Usman said. “I think Justin is such a freaking good guy, which is why he is your favorite fighter’s favorite fighter. He loves to entertain so much to where it’s, ‘OK, you paid to see this type of fight; I’m going to give you that type of fight.’

“He’s that type of guy and to where I thought he could have made some adjustments. He is a wrestler. This fight is completely different had Justin changed levels and took Max down once or twice, and he can do it. He can 100 percent do it.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.