Max Holloway is the reigning, defending UFC featherweight champion of the world. But as much as Max Holloway enjoys being the champion of the world, the moniker of “champion” and the belt that comes with it, is not what drives Max Holloway, nor is it what makes him “Blessed”:
“The belt is the belt, you know?” Holloway told UFC.com. “I’m not here to fight for belts. I’m here to fight the toughest guy. My son, Rush, doesn’t know how many belts I have. I put them in the closet. They can come out after I’m done fighting, but right now, we’re trying to focus on being the best fighter, and I told UFC – it’s as simple as this – I told UFC, ‘Send me the hardest fights,’ and this is what they did.”
And the hardest fight available for Max Holloway at the moment is a weight class up from where he holds his featherweight championship, and that is against red hot Dustin Poirier at UFC 236. Max Holloway knows first hand how tough Dustin Poirier is, with Poirier holding a victory over a much younger Max Holloway who was making his UFC debut and was too busy trying to be ready for the moment, never mind being prepared to earn his first UFC victory:
“The number one thing I remember from that Dustin fight was telling myself not to faint when Bruce Buffer was announcing me in the fight,” he said. “That’s about it. I remember walking out and everything. My coach was like, ‘Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm.’ The boy went 200 miles per hour once they told me to start walking.”
Holloway would indeed lose via submission two minutes within the very first round. Seven years later, Max Holloway will be looking to get a victory that means much more than a belt.
Do you believe Max Holloway will eventually add another official championship belt to his mantle: the UFC lightweight championship?
