Max Holloway Exclusive Interview: UFC 308 Preview
It’s been a huge year for Max Holloway, winning the UFC BMF title with a stunning KO of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. He now prepares for a featherweight title shot and we caught up with our man ahead of UFC 308.
Read our exclusive interview to discover the featherweight champion's thoughts and preparations ahead of his fight against Ilia Topuria! Check out more UFC predictions from our experts and place your UFC bets right here on Stake.com.
The UFC kept Ilia Topuria away from me - now I show the world why
Topuria is the flavour of the month, but I’m ready to run through him
Dana White told me UFC 300 KO of Justin Gaethje changed my life
No Conor McGregor, Khabib or Jon Jones on my MMA Mount Rushmore
The UFC kept Ilia Topuria away from me - now I show the world why
"The beautiful thing is that I can think, train and plan a certain way for the fight to go, but we get to find out October 26. He's a beast bro, you cannot deny that.
"But I can't wait to go out there and test him. I've said it before and I will say it again; there's a reason why they kept Ilia Topuria away from me when he was coming up the ranks.
"I get to show on October 26 why the UFC did that."
Ilia Topuria is the flavour of the month, but I’m ready to run through him
“Obviously everyone is picking Ilia because he is the new flavour of the month, but guess what? I had a lot of title defences when I was his age.
“I’ve been an underdog my whole life, this is nothing new to me. I’ve been doing this for so long, I’ve run through the old generation with the likes of Jose Aldo, Jeremy Stephens and Conor McGregor.
“A lot of people told me I should change weight, move divisions after the third Volkanovski fight. But things happen for a reason and I knew I would be back in this position one day and I would take out anyone who stood in my way.”
‘Weird dude’ Ilia Topuria is a fan of me and I am so excited to punch him in the face
“He’s an odd fella, I can’t get a read on him to be honest. I think he is a fan of me deep down though, he just can’t deny it. I mean, he bought a BMF belt, that’s weird right?
“He’s cheering for me, but he is a weird guy for sure. Nothing he has said has fazed me at all, or bothered me. He definitely hasn’t got under my skin, but he is just a weird dude.
“But I get to fight him and punch him in the face, why would I be mad? He’s a great mixed martial artist and the champion for a reason. Great boxing, good wrestling and great jiu-jitsu as well.
“He’s got power, he’s got speed. But he has never fought me. He thinks he is going to knock me out. If he genuinely thinks that and needs it to get him excited for it, then so be it. I want the best Ilia.
“But it will be me and him locked in the Octagon, so we will find out when all the talking stops. October 26 cannot come soon enough, I am so excited.”
Dana White told me UFC 300 KO of Justin Gaethje changed my life
“My life is different for sure, a lot of people want to speak to me now. I always had people wanting to speak to me, but they seem to be a lot more keen now!
“I spoke to Dana after the event, and he told me as I was walking away with my wife that I had changed my life and just created history.
“Again, people wrote me off in that fight and said it was all wrong for me. But I knew I had what it takes.”
No Conor McGregor, Khabib or Jon Jones on my MMA Mount Rushmore
"I would say Demetrious is definitely up there, Anderson Silva is there too, GSP and then you have to give it to Forrest Griffin because he helped put the UFC on the map.
"That TUF Finale on Spike TV was huge for the UFC, so those are my guys for sure. Those four guys are absolute animals.
"When you talk about Demetrious Johnson, it seems insane to me how he is viewed just because he fought at 125lbs. This 125-er would absolutely whoop your ass.
"A lot of bigger guys think they can hang with him, you get these influencers and social media personalities who go around screaming, 'I'm 260 bro, he's 125lbs.'
"Brother, Demetrious Johnson would take your ACL and your arm home and then he would come back and cut your head off if he wanted to. You could do nothing about it, he's such a beast.
"I wish I was fighting during the time that GSP was around, I would have loved to have shared the Octagon with him. He's one of the greats, as was Anderson Silva - he was such a beast.
"Some people might disagree with my Mount Rushmore, but I'm looking at the way these fighters carried themselves inside and outside of the Octagon, how they were ambassadors for the sport and for the company as well.
"DC is probably going to be mad that he's not on my Mount Rushmore of MMA, but I don't like the way he carries himself out of the UFC. He thinks he's the 'Daddest Man on the Planet', he is delusional."
UFC 308 victory would be top three of my career
"This victory would be in the top three of my career, for sure. Winning that first title will always be special. Beating Jose Aldo, the King of Rio and an idol of mine, nothing will ever beat that I don't think.
"Secondly, the 300 moment has to be up there for me. All of the build-up and the lead up to it, there were so many things going on it felt bigger than the BMF title.
"Unless I can do something crazy to top that UFC 300 moment, then it might be second. It will 100% be a top three moment in my career, not just because it is for the title but also because of who it is against.
"This new generation guy, with a variety of different skills, he's so powerful and athletic - but beating him would make this a top three moment of my career for sure."
