Despite 15 fights in the UFC since debuting in February 2012—12 of which he won—Max "Blessed" Holloway has flown under the radar for many casual fans. The Hawaiian striker was ranked No. 4 and on an eight-fight win streak as he headed into UFC 199, where he faced fifth-ranked Ricardo Lamas.
After a dominant performance, Holloway took a unanimous-decision win. Now he's the No. 3 featherweight and on a nine-fight win streak.
#UFC199 Highlights: Max Holloway vs. Ricardo Lamas https://t.co/5vypcIqVaz
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) June 5, 2016
Maybe Holloway has escaped greater notice because he lost a decision to Conor McGregor, right at the beginning of McGregor's rise in the UFC. McGregor's name has led the great majority of MMA coverage, rivaled only by Ronda Rousey. But since that fight, which was also Holloway's last loss, the 24-year-old has been on a tear, and he shows no signs of stopping.
So if he's escaped your notice, now is a great time to start paying attention. With the first- and second-ranked featherweights fighting each other for the interim title while champion Conor McGregor does other stuff, a title shot is probably not too far off for Holloway. The winner of Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar, crowned the interim champ, will then either fight McGregor for the unified belt, or become the unified champ if McGregor doesn't return to featherweight.
Holloway beat the fighters currently ranked fifth through eighth: Lamas, Cub Swanson, Charles Oliveira and Jeremy Stephens. No. 9 is Dennis Bermudez, to whom he lost a decision in a ruling that confounded the MMA media.
Studious fans and members of the MMA media get really excited about Holloway. Here's why, and what to look for in his next fight.
Holloway's Striking is Good—and Intelligent
At 5'11", Holloway is tall for the division and has figured out how to make his gangly build serve him in his fights. Paired with his boxing skill, his stand-up game is both technical and tactical, exhibiting a natural talent that improves rapidly.
Striking specialist Connor Ruebusch analyzed Holloway's style in depth at Bloody Elbow, where he noted the efficacy of his jab and accompanying footwork. Ruebusch writes: "He knows how and when and why to throw his jab. Holloway jabs his way into range, and covers his exits with the same punch. He stops rushing opponents in their tracks, and distracts them with quick flickers of his left hand before delivering clean, powerful crosses and hooks."
His strategizing also includes superior distance management. Ruebusch, over email, attributes Holloway's skill here to two things in particular. First, he keeps his opponents at the end of his reach with his punches—thereby discouraging them from capitalizing on their own reach.
Twitter user pdlmma, a sports analyst in his professional life, agrees. Also over email, he said: "(Holloway) clips guys on the end of his punches when he goes for the head, which makes it sting them way more than his physicality would suggest...A lanky guy like that often struggles to coordinate where his fist should be away from his body.
"He knows he can fight long and is the rare type with a brain that can coordinate those long arms, and can force the range he wants while moving forward."
The second factor in Holloway's distance management, Ruebusch says, is that he constantly changes angles. In his email, Ruebusch writes, "...Holloway turns and sidesteps after connecting, or after evading an opponent's first punch. He rarely enters and exits on the same lines, and constantly forces the other guy to turn to catch up to him.
"When he's feeling safe, he'll turn a guy all day long. But when he wants to hurt you, he'll make you turn and then hit you while you do so, before you can reset your feet to attack him."
Also worth noting, as Ruebusch does in his Bloody Elbow piece, is that Holloway appears equally comfortable fighting from a southpaw stance as he does orthodox—something he used to stymie Lamas at UFC 199.
Holloway is Now a Threatening Grappler
When Holloway debuted in the UFC at just 20 years of age—the youngest active fighter on their roster at the time—his striking showed clear promise. Pitted against Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt Dustin Poirier as a last-minute replacement, the fight went as many predicted. Holloway ended up on the ground with Poirier and got submitted with a triangle/armbar at three minutes and 23 seconds into the first round.
His ground game needed work. In 2012, when he made his debut, Holloway had only been fighting for two years. In fact, his debut was just his fifth professional fight. Since then, he has improved to the point where he can do more than defend against his opponent's grappling—he's genuinely threatening.
His first submission win came by way of guillotine choke on Andre Fili, a member of wrestling-heavy Team Alpha Male, in April 2014.
In the second round, Fili landed a huge takedown and ended up in Holloway's guard. But unable to advance from there, the ref stood them up.
In the third round, Holloway knocked Fili around enough that Fili shot in for a single leg, his technique compromised from the blows. Holloway immediately cinched up a guillotine, sat down and tapped Fili in a matter of seconds.
A year later, he submitted BJJ black belt Cub Swanson in the same way. The first time they grappled in the fight was in the third round; Holloway controlled the action on the ground, right up until he stood and forced the fight back to the feet.
The finish came when Holloway dropped Swanson with strikes and then sprawled as Swanson tried to stand. He locked up the guillotine, stepped over Swanson's legs to straddle his torso and finished it from mount.
Additionally, Holloway's ability to transition from striking to grappling augments his game. If his opponent is tired of being kept at distance and shoots in for a takedown, Holloway doesn't just stuff the attempt and take the fight back to the feet, as talented strikers often do. Instead, he seizes the new opportunity presented to him and responds to their grappling attack in kind, making his opponents ineffectual no matter their method of approach. He rarely gets tunnel vision or stubbornly stuck in one mode.
While Holloway tends to remain on the feet and seems to prefer it, he's knowledgeable enough in the language of grappling that he won't be easy to control on the ground. Along with the threat he presents there, Holloway closes off avenue after avenue for his opponents.
Of course, most successful MMA fighters are at least competent in both striking and grappling, if not exceptional or excelling at one. Since his debut four years ago, he's become a competent and opportunistic grappler. His striking is the real standout, though; at worst, his ability was above average. At best, it's the manifestation of an MMA boxing wunderkind.
What distinguishes Holloway from so many even more, however, is his fight mind. He has great instincts, a high fight IQ and a seemingly natural proclivity for understanding all aspects of the game. This is what differentiates a good technician, who may indeed go far in the sport, from a fighter who has the potential to be a long-reigning champion.
Here's hoping Holloway gets that chance—he's earned it.
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