Athletes
The Fights | 2024 Half-Year Awards
From Brawls To Tactical Chess Matches, 2024 Has Seen Some Amazing Fights So Far
The highly unofficial half-year awards season continues with the best fights of the first half of 2024 and how we saw them on fight night…
5 – Robert Whittaker defeats Paulo Costa by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Saturday’s co-main event clash between middleweight contenders Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa was an “edge of your seat” battle from the outset, engaging in an early entrant in the Fight of the Year race.
2024 HALF-YEAR AWARDS: Knockouts | Submissions | Newcomers
The opening five minutes was a straight give-and-take for the majority of the round, with Costa punctuating things with a spinning heel kick that landed flush and wobbled Whittaker. The Australian former champion responded in the second, continuing to out-land Costa while mixing between the lead leg and the head. In the third, Whittaker upped the output in the second half and continued to connect at a greater clip than Costa, right through to the final horn.
This was a tremendous competitive and entertaining battle that affirmed each man’s standing as serious threats in the 185-pound ranks. When the scores were read aloud, it was Whittaker that came out ahead, earning a clean sweep of the cards to get himself back in the win column to start the year.
4 – Max Holloway defeats Justin Gaethje by KO (right hand) at 4:59 of Round 5
Max Holloway Knocks Out Justin Gaethje, Wins BMF Belt | UFC 300
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Max Holloway Knocks Out Justin Gaethje, Wins BMF Belt | UFC 300
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Max Holloway is the latest to hold the UFC’s BMF title, claiming the symbolic belt with a masterful performance against Justin Gaethje midway through Saturday’s pay-per-view main card, capped by one of the gnarliest knockouts you're ever going to see.
The former featherweight champion was sharp from the start, using his long punches to pick at Gaethje early before shattering his nose with a spinning back kick on the buzzer at the end of the first round. From there, “Blessed” continued to consistently land the better shots, stinging Gaethje on multiple occasions while weathering the shots coming back his way exceptionally well through the first 15 minutes.
Gaethje found more success in the fourth, dropping Holloway and continuing to crash home low kicks to the Hawaiian’s battered lead leg, but Holloway responded by taking the fight to him in the fifth… and then it happened.
When the final 10 second clacker sounded, Holloway invited Gaethje to stand in the center with him, much like he did Ricardo Lamas at UFC 199. Gaethje obliged and the two started slinging, with Holloway putting a right hand on Gaethje’s jaw, knocking him out cold.
This was every bit as captivating as expected, and an absolutely tremendous showing from the long-time ruler of the 145-pound weight class, with an insane finish that affirmed his standing as the baddest dude on the planet.
3 – Zhang Weili defeats Yan Xiaonan by unanimous decision (49-45, 49-45, 49-45)
What a fight.
What. A. Fight.
Zhang Weili remains the UFC strawweight champion, earning a gutsy decision win over her compatriot Yan Xiaonan in the UFC 300 co-main event.
Zhang was a second or two away from earning a stoppage in the first after locking onto a deep rear-naked choke. Yan was saved by the bell and groggy getting to her feet, only to be dominated on the canvas again in the second, with Zhang once again chasing submissions in search of a finish.
The challenger defended well and rallied in the third and early moments of the fourth, taking the fight to the tiring champion, knocking her down in each frame. But Zhang got the fight to the ground later in the round and controlled from there, landing shots the rest of the way home. In the final round, Zhang once again got the fight to the canvas and neutralized Yan, chipping away with short shots the rest of the way.
All three judges scored it in favor of Zhang, who secured her second successful title defense to begin her second reign atop the 115-pound weight class. It’ll be interesting to see what is next for the titleholder after a competitive, hard-fought battle here.
2 – Dustin Poirier defeats Benoît Saint Denis by KO (strikes) at 2:32 of Round 2
Dustin Poirier halted the ascent of Benoît Saint Denis, battling through suffocating pressure and tough spots to earn the second-round stoppage.
Saint Denis was in Poirier’s face the entire fight, walking him down without care for his defenses in the first, using his wrestling and his physicality to get the better of things. In the second, Poirier started letting go of his hands a little more, and after working back to his feet along the fence, he landed with force, dropping Saint Denis and sealing the deal with a thudding blow on the canvas.
This was a massive finish for “The Diamond,” who took a risk taking a fight against an ascending threat while coming off a loss, and he made the absolute most of it. That’s now 22 UFC wins for the Louisiana native, who remains one of the most all-action, entertaining fighters on the roster.
1 - Islam Makhachev defeats Dustin Poirier by submission (D’arce choke) at 2:42 of Round 5
Islam Makhachev remains the UFC lightweight champion after collecting a fifth-round submission win.
The champion put Poirier on the canvas quickly in the first, advancing to his back and staying there for the remainder of the round. Poirier defended well throughout, and the remainder of the fight was scrappier and more competitive, with the challenger doing well to defend takedowns while Makhachev was forced into the first bloody, grueling battle of his championship reign.
With both men bloodied, but dialed in heading into the final round, Makhachev caused Poirier to stumble in the center of the Octagon midway through the round, and pounced. After momentarily looking for a guillotine choke, the champion switched off to a D’arce choke and quickly drew out the tap.
That’s now three consecutive successful title defenses and 14 straight wins for Makhachev, who continues to reign supreme in the lightweight division. He’s now tied with four others for the most consecutive successful title defenses in the division and sits two wins back of Anderson Silva’s record for consecutive UFC victories.
