Tag: Max Holloway

Max Holloway excited for Jose Aldo’s move down to bantamweight at UFC 245

Max Holloway shares his thoughts on former adversary Jose Aldo’s decision to move down to 135 pounds.

LOS ANGELES – Despite throwing down twice with [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag], [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] appears to have nothing but respect for the former champion.

During a media day event Thursday in Los Angeles, UFC featherweight champ Holloway was asked about former 145-pound titleholder Aldo’s decision to move down to bantamweight for his next bout.

Aldo fights Marlon Moraes at UFC 245 next week. Holloway defends his featherweight title on the same card against Alexander Volkanovski in the co-main event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

And while Holloway admitted he was a little surprised at first, he thinks Aldo can make the weight if he’s disciplined.

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“I was like, ‘Thank God I don’t have to face him again,'” Holloway said. “That guy’s a beast. He’s strong. I was kind of blown away at first. I was like, ‘Oh, he’s going to make ’35, and it’s possible. It’s just changing your diet and this and that.’ So I wish nothing but the best for him. But we’ll see what happens.

“I’m excited. He’s fighting, in my eyes – it’s like fighting a clone. Him and Marlon are like the same, and they’re both Brazilians. I’m excited for that fight, so I can’t wait to watch that fight, too.”

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Max Holloway can see himself moving all the way up to middleweight when he’s older

UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway can see himself moving all the way up to 185 pounds when he’s older.

LOS ANGELES – [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] is willing to compete at just about any weight class.

The UFC featherweight champion has a tough time making the 145-pound limit, and certainly sees himself moving up in weight in the future – possibly all the way up to 185 pounds.

“I don’t know about holding belts all at one time, this and that, but nobody really got three yet,” Holloway said at a Thursday media event. “So 170,  I could see myself … I just turned 28, I can see myself maybe going to (1)85, being healthy, and getting strong there. I’ve got five, six more years in this sport. Who knows? I might pull a ‘DC’ (Daniel Cormier) on you guys and fight to 40.

“I’m a Polynesian/Hawaiian/Samoan, and I’m probably the smallest Samoan/Hawaiian you guys see. So I think the weight issue is not a problem. This is about getting in the gym, getting the weights, and actually packing on the muscle.”

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Holloway has racked up quite a resume at featherweight. He hasn’t lost at 145 pounds since a unanimous decision setback to Conor McGregor in 2013 and has run through the division since then.

Holloway’s idea of being the best fighter in the world entails competing at whichever weight class includes the top talent. He may have failed in his first attempt to capture the interim lightweight title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 236, but the goal remains the same.

“I want to be the best mixed martial artist in the world, and being the best mixed martial artist is not a guy who stays in his weight and dominates his weight,” Holloway said. “It is someone who’s willing to go at whatever weight. So whatever’s the best guys, whoever’s the best guy in the world … you guys tell me. I’ve got a couple of belts I want to fight for.”

For now, Holloway (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) will look to continue his dominance in the featherweight division, when takes on Alexander Volkanovski (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) at UFC 245 on Dec. 14, looking to notch his fourth title defense.

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Max Holloway: Conor McGregor rematch can happen if he wants to be great again

With Conor McGregor back in action, Max Holloway says he wouldn’t mind running back their 2013 fight … if the McGregor of old returns.

LOS ANGELES — It’s a near-universal fact of professional combat sports life: When a fighter loses a fight, they want a chance to avenge their loss, no matter how much time passes and what else they might achieve in their career.

In the case [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag], he took on Conor McGregor when the former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion was just beginning his meteoric rise.

Holloway (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) substituted for Andy Ogle and fought McGregor on the first-ever UFC event on FOX Sports 1 in Boston in Aug. 2013, an undercard bout which was McGregor’s first appearance in the United States.

That night, a young Holloway hung tough, but lost a unanimous decision on scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 30-26.

And that’s the last time “Blessed” ever lost a featherweight fight. More than six years later, the Hawaii native is well-established with the 145-pound belt McGregor once held. He’s won 13 straight featherweight bouts going into his UFC 245 title defense against Alexander Volkanovski (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC).

McGregor, for his part, will fight for the first time in 15 months when he takes on Donald Cerrone in a welterweight bout in the main event of UFC 246 on January 18.

Which means the possibility of the duo once again crossing paths, even if it isn’t exactly probable, is once again back on Holloway’s radar. 

Holloway says he’s open to a rematch — so long as McGregor is still committed to being one of the best in the sport. 

“We’ll see what happens,” Holloway told reporters during a media event on Thursday. “If the ‘Mystic Mac’ arrives, if he wants to be what he was a couple years ago when he was he was the best mixed martial artist in the world and he wants to do it again, I’m sure we’re going to run into each other or something like that.” 

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If it turns out McGregor is simply chasing paydays and fights which interest him, rather than pursuing titles, then Holloway is good with that, too. McGregor and Holloway have by and large displayed a mutual respect in the years since they met in the octagon, and Holloway sees no reason why that would change. 

“I respect that man a lot, and what he did for the sport, and he comes up short like anyone else you know?” Holloway said. “Just like anyone else. We’re all human, and we all make mistakes, and sometimes you gotta give someone else a chance. Me and him, I don’t know what it is, we respect each other on that level … I’m excited that he’s back in the sport and can’t wait for him to do his thing in January.”

Maybe a Holloway-McGregor rematch will happen, maybe it won’t. Either way, Holloway is glad to see his former foe back in action.

“We’ll see what happens,” Holloway said. “We’ll see if Conor comes. We’ll see if Mystic Mac is back and the way he’s training. But we get to see that fight. So I wish him a great training camp and you know, I can’t wait to see him go back in there.”

To hear more from Holloway on McGregor, watch the video above, and to hear his entire media day interview, click on the video below.

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UFC 245 free fight: Watch Max Holloway take out Jose Aldo for the second time

Watch Max Holloway unify the UFC featherweight titles, taking Jose Aldo out for the second time.

[autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] run through the 145-pound division, rising from prospect to contender to champion has been something to behold.

Holloway (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) faced then UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo the first time at UFC 212, where he took on the “King of Rio” in his own backyard. Holding an interim title at the time, Holloway took Aldo out in the third round, unifying the featherweight titles in a “Fight of the Night” effort.

But the legend Aldo was awarded an instant rematch, and Holloway left no doubt when they faced off a second time, defeating Aldo once again via third-round TKO and cementing himself as one of the greatest featherweights of all time. Holloway then went on to hand Brian Ortega his first career loss, battering him over the course of four rounds, until the doctor’s had to intervene and stop the fight.

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Despite subsequently failing in his attempt to move up in weight and capture the interim lightweight title, in a loss to Dustin Poirier, Holloway managed to bounce back with another featherweight title defense, defeating former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at UFC 240 in July.

Holloway will be part of the UFC 245 championship triple header, when he takes on Alexander Volkanovski (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in the co-main event on Dec. 14. In the meantime, relive his second straight finish over Aldo, in the video above.

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MMA rankings report: How will December’s big fights shake things up?

With a big month of fights on tap to close the year, Gorgeous George and John Morgan project how the rankings might shake out.

Things have been a little slow the past couple weeks in mixed martial arts, but the year will end with a bang, as December features a big slate of important fights.

There are several matchups which will have major implications on both their respective divisions and, in some cases, the pound-for-pound list. Matches such as:

  • [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] at welterweight
  • [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Alexander Volkanosvki[/autotag] and [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Chan Sung Jung[/autotag] at featherweight
  • [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] and [autotag]Aspen Ladd[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Yana Kunitskaya[/autotag] at women’s bantamweight
  • [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Marlon Moraes[/autotag] at men’s bantamweight

Those are just some of the matchups over the next several weeks which will have a major impact on the future. What might they mean for the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings? Let MMA Junkie’s “Gorgeous” George Garcia and John Morgan walk you through the changes in the video above.

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UFC 245 judges, referees set: Jason Herzog gets first UFC title fight assignment

Judges and referees assignments are set for UFC 245, which features three title fights on Dec. 14 in Las Vegas.

The UFC will close out its 2019 pay-per-view schedule next month with UFC 245, which features three championship fights.

The Nevada Athletic Commission has assigned judges and referees for those title bouts, which top the Dec. 14 card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. NAC announced the assignments at a Wednesday meeting in Las Vegas.

In the main event, [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) will put his welterweight title on the line against heated rival [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC). Marc Goddard will serve as the referee for the 170-pound title bout, while Derek Cleary, Sal D’Amato and Eric Colon serve as judges.

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The co-headliner, which sees [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) put his featherweight belt up for grabs against [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC), will see Jason Herzog get his first UFC title fight referee assignment, with Mike Bell, Junichiro Kamijo and Chris Lee slated as judges.

Finally, the women’s bantamweight title rematch between dual-champ [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 11-1 UFC) and [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC) will mark the sixth UFC title fight for referee Keith Peterson. The judges will be Dave Hagen, Ron McCarthy and D’Amato.

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Video: ‘Ready to Rise’ hypes up UFC 245 title fights led by Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington

Check out the “Ready to Rise” video hyping up the three title fights at UFC 245, highlighting Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington.

UFC 245 will feature a trio of title fights, headlined by welterweight champion [autotag]Kamaru Usman[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC), who is set to make his first title defense against former interim champ [autotag]Colby Covington[/autotag] (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC).

In the co-main event, featherweight champ [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC), takes on the surging [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC). And dual champ [autotag]Amanda Nunes[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 11-1 UFC) puts her bantamweight title on the line against ex-featherweight champ [autotag]Germaine de Randamie[/autotag] (9-3 MMA, 6-1 UFC).

UFC 245 takes place Dec. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on ESPN+/UFC Fight Pass.

“Ready to Rise” is a short promo video for UFC 245 centered around the night’s headliner, a grudge match between Usman and Covington. Check out the video below.

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Max Holloway explains battery of medical tests before booking UFC 245 title defense

UFC champ Max Holloway explains why he felt the need to go through medical tests before booking his next title defense at UFC 245.

Before being booked at UFC 245, [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] refused to seriously discuss his next UFC featherweight title defense until he knew he was medically clear.

A cloud of concern has hung over Holloway (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) after an ugly 2018 campaign that saw him withdraw from three consecutive title fights. The latter of those withdrawals was most worrisome, with Holloway pulling out of a scheduled bout during fight week with a still unknown medical issue.

Since then, Holloway has been hyper-cautious. After beating Frankie Edgar at UFC 240 in July, “Blessed” was immediately confronted about his next title defense against Alexander Volkanovski (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC). He said he welcomed the challenge, but not before ensuring he had a clean bill of health.

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Holloway, 27, explained why he felt the need to go through a battery of tests.

“At the end of the day I only care about my long run,” Holloway told MMA Junkie. “I care about my longevity. These guys work for (my son) Rush, they don’t work for me. They want to make sure I’m there for Rush, so that’s what we did.”

Holloway said his tests came back clear of any issues after beating Edgar over the summer, and at that point he was ready to pick up the phone.

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The UFC came calling with the matchup against Volkanovski, which serves as the co-headliner of the Dec. 14 card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Volkanovski has insisted he’s going to be the one to dethrone Holloway and bring an end to his historic winning streak in the featherweight division. Holloway, as always, welcomes to the challenge, he said.

“He’s the No. 1 contender, he’s the next cupcake on the list,” Holloway said. “I can’t wait to taste the flavor.”

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