Max Holloway and Conor McGregor trade barbs online.
Saturday night at UFC 218, Featherweight champion Max “Blessed” Holloway retained his title with a spectacular performance. He finished former champion Jose Aldo in the third round with a beautiful barrage of striking. The victory is Holloway’s second over Aldo, and cements him atop the Featherweight division with a 12-fight win streak.
Initially, Holloway was slated to fight former UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar at 218, but “The Answer” had to withdraw with a broken orbital bone, and Aldo eagerly stepped up for the rematch. However, not much had changed, and while Max was cautious the early rounds, he gained confidence and drew out Aldo’s power. Eventually, Aldo tired and Max surged. The young Hawaiian poured on the pressure and obtained a spectacular knockout victory in the third round. Holloway said the fight went as expected. In preparation his trainer told him, “Let’s take [Aldo] into deep water. We know he can’t swim there. And then we’re going to drown him.”
When asked who he wants next, Holloway is endearingly flippant. He refers to the Featherweight contenders as “cupcakes,” all of whom will be eaten eventually. Edgar would be the next logical opponent, though Max will likely be a heavy favorite.
One thing Max does want is a UFC card in his home state of Hawaii. His teammate Yancy Medeiros put on an outstanding Fight Of The Night performance against Alex “Cowboy” Olivera at UFC 218, and there are several other Hawaiian fighters who would love to perform on the Islands.
One fighter who took notice of Holloway’s destruction of Aldo was Max’s former opponent Conor McGregor. McGregor posted this picture on Instagram with the caption “I miss those sunglasses,” referring to Max’s black eyes and the sunglasses McGregor wears in the background. The picture was taken shortly after McGregor beat Holloway by decision in 2013 when the young Hawaiian was 21 years old.
Holloway responded with this post, captioned, “Miss the sunglasses? I bet you also miss 2015 brother. Retired fighters love the past.” Max has expressed a desire to eventually move to Lightweight, McGregor’s weight class, and a rematch between the two would be nothing short of a spectacular.
For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
