Max Holloway’s 2018 was a roller coaster ride.
Back in March 2018, “Blessed” was forced to pull out of a bout with Frankie Edgar due to an injury. Holloway was then scheduled to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight title in April. “Blessed” was removed from the card due to a weight-cutting issue.
Things got really bad for Holloway when he couldn’t make it to his planned July scrap with Brian Ortega. Holloway fell ill and many wondered if “Blessed” would become another “what if” story. Holloway ended up defending his featherweight gold against Ortega in December, battering the challenger on his way to a TKO win.
Max Holloway Speaks On Low Points Of 2018
Holloway spoke to Sports Illustrated and said that 2018 was a series of struggles:
“Man, the last fight was emotional. The year leading up to that, I had a bunch of fights fall through, had a little depression. I was fighting somewhat of depression. It was just crazy to have the fight like that. The last year, part of my career, three fights that got pulled from me. I got hurt. I got hurt. After that, doctors pulled me twice. It goes from a guy, I’m so used to fighting two to four times a year to only fighting one time a year now. I had no control or say in it.”
Holloway admitted that he questioned if he would ever be able to compete again:
“Yeah, you know, after that stuff that happened, I was thinking, like, ‘Man, what if I don’t ever fight again?’ That’s what led into it.”
“Blessed” will take on Dustin Poirier in a rematch this Saturday night (April 13). The two will clash for the interim UFC lightweight title. The bout is set to headline UFC 236.
