There is something special about seeing a fighter coming into his own, and Max Holloway is in the midst of making that process a reality.
The 23-year-old Hawaiian scrapper may have struggled to find consistent success in his initial steps onto the biggest stage in mixed martial arts, but the past two years have been a completely different story. Over the course of his past six outings, Blessed has truly found his groove as he's used an ever-expanding and dangerous skill set to build one of the longest winning streaks currently rolling in the featherweight ranks.
Proof of his evolution has not only come with the notches he's racked up in the win column, but on the strength of competition he's defeated as well. The rangy featherweight has bested a collection of established talent during his current run, but no victory has been bigger than his lights-out performance against Cub Swanson at UFC on Fox 15 back in April.
Despite Killer Cub's renown for being one of the most devastating strikers in the 145-pound fold, Holloway was able to batter the Palm Springs native throughout the tilt until he secured victory with a guillotine choke late in the final round. Defeating the Jackson/Winkeljohn product was undoubtedly the biggest victory of his career, and it only made Holloway that much more hungry to keep climbing the divisional ladder.
“It was amazing to get that win," Holloway told Bleacher Report. "I actually amazed myself, to be honest with you. It was just a perfect performance and it was my night. I was on and everything went my way. I felt great, everything came together for a really great fight. Everything went the right way.
“Nobody gave me a shot on the feet with Cub and that kind of blew my mind. Everybody said my best luck was on the ground and he’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu. I’m only a blue belt so I’m not really sure what anyone meant with all of that. At the end of the day, it was hard work that allowed me to get the victory that night. It was the grueling training sessions and having to be away from my family that made it possible. It was all the pain, sweat and tears that showed in that fight. I’m just trying to progress and grow with the sport because if you don’t, you get left behind."
Holloway's showing in New Jersey was also the most outstanding of his young career. Swanson had been lingering within striking distance of a title shot for the past three years, and the rising Hawaiian talent answered that challenge with relative ease. Domination of the variety Holloway unleashed in Newark sent a clear message to the rest of the elite-level fighters in the division that the surging scrapper is ready to face the best the world has to offer at 145-pounds.
The featherweight strap will be on hold until long-reigning champion Jose Aldo and Irish upstart Conor McGregor settle their business at UFC 189 on July 11 in Las Vegas, but the amount of talent in the upper echelon at 145 means there are plenty of interesting matchups for Holloway to take on the road ahead. A mixture of former title challengers and perennial contenders currently occupies the upper tier of the divisional hierarchy, and Holloway doesn't care if he has to work his way through each and every one of them.
He's determined to create a championship opportunity for himself and will take whatever steps are necessary in order to make that happen.
“If I got the call to fight for the title shot next that would be great, but if that doesn’t happen, it won’t change anything," Holloway said. "I’m going to keep fighting until I get it. To be the best you have to beat the best and that’s what I want to do. I want to fight guys who people think I don’t stand a chance against and think they are bad matchups for me. I want to fight people I’m supposed to lose against, because overcoming the odds is a great feeling. But there is always going to be someone else.
“I want to fight everyone until there is no one left for me to fight. I want to fight guys that people think I can’t beat or can’t do this or that against like Frankie [Edgar], Chad [Mendes] and [Ricardo] Lamas. I want to fight them all and I just want to be remembered as one of the greatest in this sport. I’ll fight anyone, anywhere, anytime like [Donald] Cowboy [Cerrone] always says. We are fighters and this is what I love to do."
The amount of success and experience he's accrued has also served to bolster his confidence inside the Octagon, which is a dangerous attribute in its own right when things go live. A fighter who believes he can handle anything that's thrown he way is a different type of animal, and Holloway's confidence has never been higher.
The belief he has in his abilities is what allows him to open up his offense, and the creativity he's been able to show inside the Octagon has made him a fighter fans want to see.
"I have a lot of confidence in myself," Holloway said. "I believe I’m the best in the world and I really don’t care what anyone else has to say about that. They can keep talking s--t to me on Twitter and Instagram telling me I’m horrible and that I suck, but it doesn’t matter to me. At the end of the day, it comes down to what I think and believe, and I believe I’m the best fighter in the world. I don’t think I’m just the best fighter at 145—I think I’m the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. That’s just the confidence I have in myself.
“When someone is confident they can do amazing things. When someone really truly believes in themselves, are confident and puts actions behind it, anything can be accomplished. My main goal I try to get out to people is that everyone is great at something. We all have some type of greatness inside of us, but it’s our job to find it and work hard to master it."
And all of these things build toward Holloway's ultimate goal. When fans are excited to watch you work—that's when the big fights come. When you win those high-profile fights—that's when the title shot is granted to you. Yet, throughout each and every step of that journey the paydays are only going to get bigger and bigger, and that is what Holloway has set his sights on.
The Waianae native wants to put himself into as much big-money action as possible, and if he is able to follow through on the goals he's set, everything else will take care of itself.
“No matter how much I love this sport, at the end of the day I have a family," Holloway said. "I have a son and a wife and I have to be realistic about things. We have bills and I want those big paydays. I’ve won a few bonuses and that’s always great, plus I just signed a new contract and I’m getting paid more. It’s getting interesting now and I’m excited for the future.
“I have goals for myself too. I want to be a home owner and I want to pay off my car. As I climb this ladder, everything around me is getting better as well. That’s all I can do, man. I just have to stay on the path. I have to keep my head screwed on to my shoulders and keep working hard. I can’t forget where I came from and where I started, just as I can’t forget all the work it’s taken to get me to the place I am now."
While there is yet to be an opponent named for his next trip to the Octagon, several of his peers are also coming off strong showings inside the cage. One name in particular that seems to be gaining some traction with the MMA community is grappling ace Charles Oliveira, who is coming off an impressive submission finish over Nik Lentz in their rematch at Fight Night 67 in Goiania, Brazil.
Holloway has consistently expressed his willingness to face anyone the UFC places across from him inside the cage, but he did admit he's certainly up to mixing it up with Do Bronx should the promotion see fit. Yet his reason for being open to facing the talented young Brazilian have little to do with the stylistic challenges he would present, and everything to do with who Oliveira has faced in the past.
The former prospect turned divisional staple has faced two of the best fighters in the featherweight fold, and one of them, Frankie Edgar, is currently within striking distance of a title shot. If Holloway were to defeat Oliveira and do so in stunning and memorable fashion, perhaps that would put him in the express lane to a title opportunity of his own in the near future.
“I wouldn’t mind fighting Charles [Oliveira]," Holloway said. "Frankie fought him and Cub and defeated both of them and is making a case for a title shot. I just beat Cub, and maybe if I fight and finish Oliveira as well, maybe that gives me a case of my own because I beat both guys, too, but I did just a little bit better against them.
"I’m new in this top-five picture and that makes things interesting, because Jose Aldo has beat everyone else ranked above me, and maybe they let someone new get in there against him to shake it up a little. But I don’t care who I fight as long as I’m staying active and collecting good paychecks. I want to be remembered as one of the greats and the only way to do that is to be out there fighting as often as possible."
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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