Is Max Holloway Going to Be Ready for Brian Ortega?

In an ideal world, fighters fight at the peak of athletic condition, and are able to showcase the best of themselves.

Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world, and often fighters have to step into the cage already nursing a variety of hurts and ouches. But in certain instances, those hurts and ouches go far beyond what is acceptable by an athletic commission… which brings us to the case of Max Holloway.

The featherweight champ was supposed to face top challenger Brian Ortega at UFC 226, but Holloway was yanked because he was a mess. We’re talking pervasive concussion-like symptoms here. And since something like that has almost everything to do with brain trauma, that’s a big yikes.

At UFC 231, on December 8, Holloway is scheduled to finally meet Ortega in the Octagon. In case you’ve forgotten, this is the kind of badass Ortega is:

So. The big question now is whether or not Holloway will be ready.

The second big question is, even if he’s ready and cleared by the commission in Toronto, will Holloway be at his best? Because although five months can be a long time, it sometimes isn’t long enough when a fighter is wandering around slurring his words and acting like the victim of a car crash.