Max Holloway is eager to reenter the Octagon, this time right back in the role of champion that he has grown accustomed to. In his last contest, Max Holloway vied for the interim lightweight championship at UFC 236 against Dustin Poirier, only to come up short. But one division that he has not come up short in since 2013 is the featherweight division, where Max Holloway’s 13-fight winning streak remains in tact and where the champion intends to continue ruling with two iron fists:
“When the king leaves his throne on hiatus for a little bit, people try to come take over,” Holloway began in a UFC interview. “And we’re at that point. Somebody’s trying to take the throne, and guess what, I’m back and I can’t wait.”
And the latest gladiator who will look to usurp Max Holloway is the battle-tested Frankie Edgar in a fight that Holloway cannot wait for:
“This fight excites me, and I get motivated for every fight,” Holloway said. “Every time we talk, I’m 0-0 every single time, and I can’t wait to go out there and remind the world why I’m one of the best fighters, if not the best fighter, in the world.”
“This is one of the guys that’s always been in my head that I want to fight him. To me, he’s like (Jose) Aldo. He’s one of the greats and I’m just happy that I get the opportunity to share the Octagon with him.”
But neither defending his throne nor sharing the Octagon with a legend like Frankie Edgar is Max Holloway’s biggest motivation ahead of UFC 240. Indeed, Max Holloway’s biggest motivation is much smaller than Frankie Edgar:
“What motivates me a lot is that little man, ‘Mini Blessed,’” said Holloway. “All these records and stuff are cool, but me being able to show him how you should carry yourself and how you should act is the ultimate win for me. And being able to give this kid a life, maybe he’ll go to college, maybe he fights…”
How do you believe Max Holloway will fare when he returns to featherweight to defend his throne against Frankie Edgar at UFC 240?
