[MMA NEWS ARCHIVES]
Earlier this week, Max Holloway mentioned that he might face Khabib Nurmagomedov’s protégé, Islam Makhachev, down the line. Three years ago, he almost faced Khabib himself. Here’s a story published three years ago featuring one half of tonight’s UFC Vegas 42 headliner, Max Holloway. The following article is presented in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News archives.
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED APRIL 2, 2018, 1:44 PM]
Max Holloway isn’t one to shy away from a challenge.
When Tony Ferguson went down with an injury and was forced to pull out of the UFC 223 main event, Holloway was called. “Blessed” is the reigning UFC featherweight champion. Despite recovering from an ankle injury that put him out of action last month, Holloway accepted the bout.
Many fans were shocked to hear the news and believed it was an April Fools joke. This is despite the fact that UFC president Dana White and countless members of the media told fans that it wasn’t. The match-up is indeed real and set for April 7 inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Speaking to KHON2, Holloway explained why he accepted the short-notice lightweight title bout:
“April Fools! Nah, I’m just joking. The news was crazy. My manager called me. He told me that Tony is hurt and they want you and Khabib. So I was like, how do you turn down an opportunity like this? Opportunities like this come once in a lifetime. Really only one guy was able to do it. So glad to be the second guy and go out there and make history.”
He went on to express his excitement over the bout.
“I can’t wait. This guy is one of the most feared guys you know? I don’t know why, we are all fighters, we all train. He’s human, I’m human. Let’s get out there and find out who’s better.”
Does Max Holloway have a chance at defeating Khabib Nurmagomedov?
