Max Holloway Interested In 'Fighting The Toughest Guys' More Than Belts
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Max Holloway faces Dustin Poirier at UFC 236 this weekend for the Ultimate Fighting Championship interim lightweight title, with the winner to face undisputed champion Khabib Nurmagomedov later in the year.
Holloway is stepping up a weight class after essentially clearing
out the featherweight division, including back-to-back dominant
displays over longtime 145-pound king Jose Aldo.
Holloway told the UFC’s official website that he
doesn’t fight for the belts, but to test himself against the
toughest guys in the division.
“The belt is the belt, you know?” Holloway said. “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.”
Holloway previously met Poirier in his debut for the promotion back at UFC 143 in February 2012 when he was just 20 years-of-age eventually losing via submission, although a lot has changed since then. Holloway, now the undisputed featherweight king, has won 13 fights in a row and is looking at making his mark in the heavier and potentially more challenging 155-pound division starting with his rematch with Poirier.
“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.”
Max Holloway faces Dustin Poirier at UFC 236 this weekend for the Ultimate Fighting Championship interim lightweight title, with the winner to face undisputed champion Khabib Nurmagomedov later in the year.
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“The belt is the belt. I’m not here to fight for belts. I’m here to fight the toughest guy.”@BlessedMMA talks about his goals moving forward and what his plans are as far as defending his featherweight belt. #UFC236 pic.twitter.com/MDmAXlZQjt
— UFC News (@UFCNews) April 4, 2019
“The belt is the belt, you know?” Holloway said. “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.”
Holloway previously met Poirier in his debut for the promotion back at UFC 143 in February 2012 when he was just 20 years-of-age eventually losing via submission, although a lot has changed since then. Holloway, now the undisputed featherweight king, has won 13 fights in a row and is looking at making his mark in the heavier and potentially more challenging 155-pound division starting with his rematch with Poirier.
“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.”
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