Max Holloway and Jose Aldo may have been trading verbal barbs, but that hasn’t caused “Blessed” to lose respect for his UFC 212 opponent.
This Saturday night (June 3), interim featherweight champion Holloway will battle 145-pound title holder Aldo in a unification bout. The action takes place inside the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Speaking to the media (via MMAJunkie.com), Holloway said he has respect for Aldo and blasted people who use that against him:
“At the end of the day, I respect him. Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, you know you’ve got to respect him.’ Look, idiots, if I didn’t respect him, I would have not been here. At the end of the day, you’ve got to respect. But when I go in there, he’s trying to take my head off.”
“Blessed” also said he doesn’t understand why fans expected him to be nice in the lead-up to the biggest fight of his professional mixed martial arts career.
“We’re getting into a fight. We’re fighting, guys. What are you talking about? What am I supposed to be? All goody two-shoes and be like, ‘Oh, yeah, he’s amazing.’ No. He’s great. His run, his era, was great. But it’s time for the ‘Blessed’ era now. Out with the old, in with the new.”
