Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway has the chance to re-write his name back into the history books of the UFC featherweight division when he takes on undefeated champion Ilia Topuria in just two weeks’ time.
The last time we saw Max Holloway in the octagon, he was face-planting Justin Gaethje at 155lbs – but as the dreaded weight cut to get back down to the FW championship limit looms large, ‘Blessed’ is looking to silence the doubters once and for all.
Max Holloway addresses concerns over a tough weight cut ahead of UFC 308
Given how Max Holloway has gone from fighting at 145lbs, up to 155lbs, and will be dropping back down at UFC 308 later this month, it’s not necessarily a surprise to hear that some fans are concerned about ‘Blessed’ draining himself on the scales for his clash with Ilia Topuria.
“I mean everybody keeps talking about the weight coming into this fight,” acknowledged Holloway on the most recent episode of his ‘Road to the Fight’ YouTube series.
“The whole question before the last fight was [about] the weight and now the whole question about this fight is the weight [too] because of what we did in the last one.
“But it is what it is, I got the best person behind me; my wife, she’s cheffing it up and I got my man Tyler back on the team, he’s going to be out there with us fight week and he’s one of the best guys in the biz.”
When UFC 308 does roll around, it’ll be Holloway’s 30th fight in the promotion. ‘Blessed’ has never missed the contractually agreed-upon limit before and doesn’t plan on breaking that hot streak come October 26.
“I’ve never missed weight, I’ve never missed no weight in my whole career and I ain’t planning on starting to miss weight for this fight because this fight, it took a whole lot of work to get back here you know.
“People said that I shouldn’t be here, that I should have done something else, I should focus on something else, I’m done, [or] I’m past what I can do in this sport… But then again, we’re here and we’re fighting for a world title against this new generation that they’re talking about.”
In a previous episode of his VLOG series, Holloway would address whether it was harder to get back down to 145lbs after competing in the lightweight division for his last bout.
“The answer is that it’s quite normal [where] if you’re a professional about it, you’re going to figure out a way… It might be tough, but I don’t really see the difference, I’ve been fighting forever now so I can’t even tell you what the difference is.
“I’m just focused on the task at hand, if it’s at 45, 55, 170, open weight class whatever, it’s the same; the only thing that changes is the opponent… Ilia does present some problems for us, but I’m a problem solver.”
With the intensity surrounding the featherweight title showdown reaching boiling point, the fan-favorite veteran UFC fighter teased how we’re all in for a treat when the cage door locks behind him on October 26.
“I’m excited and I get the excitement, I know what you guys are excited [for]; this card is crazy and mine and Ilia’s fight is one of the most anticipated fights of the year – all I can say is tune in live on PPV, October 26.
“You guys are in for a treat, it’s going to be a fun fight, and I can’t wait to show what we’ve been working on because a lot of people are MMA experts [nowadays] and they’re saying a lot of talk – I can’t wait to go out there and show you guys what we’ve been doing.”
Can Holloway be the bull, or will ‘El Matador’ run rings around the popular veteran? Find out on October 26!