If you’ve already forgotten, for some mind boggling reason, how good Max Holloway is, “Blessed” is hoping to remind you of that fact this Saturday night at UFC 226.
The featherweight champ is booked to face fellow rising star, Brian Ortega, in the co-headliner of the July 7th card. The fight will mark the first time Holloway has fought since December, when he stopped the legendary Jose Aldo for a second time.
The 26 year-old fighter was supposed to face Frankie Edgar this past March, but Holloway had to drop out due to an ankle injury (and Ortega proceeded to step in and stopped Edgar). Then in April, the UFC tapped Holloway for a fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, but officials yanked the Hawaiian from the bout, after he encountered issues making weight.
Well, Holloway isn’t a fan of going six plus months without fighting, which is why he recently said this (quote via Yahoo Sports):
“It just was depressing, man,” Holloway said, while reflecting on his time on the sidelines. “That was, look, I was used to fighting two to four times a year. Last year, I had two. The year before that I think I had two. This year is my first one and I’m supposed to have two. The depressing stuff was it got taken away from me.
“Doctors are doing their job. I’m not hating on the [doctors] because they’re just doing their job. So, it was out of my hands. It was a bit depressing but, you know, like I said, I’m focused and I can’t wait. I can’t wait for [Saturday]. It’s finally here. We’re a [few days] away and I can’t wait to go out there and remind the world.”
Now, is there a little bit less buzz these days surrounding Holloway, due to the fact he hasn’t fought in over six months? Maybe. But, if he goes out and defeats Ortega in impressive fashion on Saturday, that will change in a hurry. In fact, even if the “Blessed” reign come to an end, if it’s a competitive and entertaining bout, Holloway’s stock won’t drop much at all.
After all, we’re talking about a guy who has won 12 straights bouts, and who has defeated the likes of Aldo, Jeremy Stephens, Cub Swanson, Anthony Pettis and Ricardo Lamas during that run.
UFC 226 will be hosted by the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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