“He Was Getting a Seizure”- Justin Gaethje’s Health Has Fans Worried as Unseen Footage of Max Holloway’s KO Revealed

Remember UFC 296 when Bryce Mitchell was convulsing after getting KO’d by Josh Emmett? It had everyone from Dana White and Joe Rogan to the average fan sitting at home concerned for the Arkansas native. Fast forward four months, similar scenes unfolded at the historic UFC 300. Except this time, all eyes were on the winner and his spectacular win that no one paid attention to the unconscious body on the canvas… until now. The UFC recently released the unseen footage of Max Holloway knocking out Justin Gaethje. The one where the cameras don’t follow Max celebrating, but this time staying with Gaethje, and this one is not for the faint-hearted. 

The footage released showed how Gaethje’s face was planted after the KO punch, and him lying on the floor unconscious. As the officials came running, trying to get him back to his senses, he was still leaking blood on the floor, face down. Gaethje took a pointless risk just to entertain fans. His title shot claim, his BMF belt and his good health were on the line against a challenger from another weight class, in a bout that was just supposed to be decorating a milestone card. Now, we know the card for that bout.

The night was another outing for Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway to a weight class above his own, at 155 lbs. In front was the boogeyman of the division, Justin ‘The Highlight’ Gaethje. And the title on the line represented the fighters’ fighter, the ones who are always open to a brawl and the ones who are never part of a boring fight. The match was a five-round war with an ending that would have only been believable in a fictional movie. Max secured a knockout victory with just 1 second remaining in the fight.

But Gaethje has no regrets or ill will towards Holloway. “Great reminder of what’s at stake. Live by the sword die by the sword. It’s all I know,” he wrote on X responding to the clip. When a fan questioned Holloway’s celebrations after the vicious KO, ‘The Highlight’ kept it real, saying, “I was trying to do the same exact thing to him. I might’ve backflipped on him. There is no controlling the sudden rush of emotions.”

If you remember how Justin Gaethje won the belt in the first place, you know he’s serious. He head-kicked Dustin Poirier ‘into the stratosphere’ as Jon Anik tastefully put it, and then backflipped off the cage. But all that chaos aside, the visuals of Gaethje were concerning.

From Joe Rogan and DC in the commentary section to every fan in front of the television, everyone was in a state of shock. An unbelievable war, where in the last ten seconds, Holloway invited Gaethje to just swing and trade in the middle. Max demanded to kill or be killed by ‘The Highlight’ pointing towards the ground. With the new visuals released, fans were quick to show their love and concern for this modern-day gladiator.

Fans rattled looking back at Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway

This unseen footage stirred a wave of emotions among fans. Respecting the heart these fighters bring to the table, a fan wrote, “You don’t play fighting, these f—-n guys are warriors. And lowkey insane to do this against other trained beasts 👏😂”. Another fan described the fighters in his words saying: “It’s Modern gladiator(s) you get separated from your conscious and not killed most of the times”.

The praises were pouring in, with most fans describing the warrior spirit these fighters carry while entering the octagon. “Respect to every fighter that steps in the cage win or lose my hats 🧢 off to all of them” one fan wrote, knowing how difficult a job it is to be a UFC fighter. Another fan had nothing but respect for the fallen, Justin Gaethje: “He went out on his shield tho!!! F-n legend!” 

There were some, though, who could not bear the sight of the footage as it was way too graphic for them. “Looked like he was getting a seizure”, a concerned fan wrote, commenting on the time when Gaethje was lying in a pool of his own blood, slowly coming back to consciousness.

The footage also reached some who are not even fans of the sport. With one comment saying, “MMA is not a sport”. The fans took it upon themselves to answer back to this one. Condemning the thought, one replied, “Water isn’t a liquid” while the other laughed at his misery, commenting, “but it is tho… 😂”. Another one, understanding the emotion of a non-follower, tried explaining by saying, “Actually the fact that it’s on purpose is distinctly what makes it a sport”. 

The footage released was a reminder to everyone that this might be the toughest sport in the world. Where you put everything on the line. The ‘ultimate’ test of will, strength, skill, and strategy. Which fight do you think deserves an uncut version to be released next? Let us know in the comments.