Max Holloway makes his pick for “most exciting” UFC champion
Max Holloway knows a thing or two about great fights.
The 29-year-old delivered a performance for the ages against Calvin Katter at UFC Fight Island 7 and set a new record for most significant strikes landed with 445.
Rank these Holloway moments:
‣ Stand and bang v Lamas – UFC 199
‣ Teaching Ortega defence – UFC 231
‣ In the zone against Kattar – #UFCFightIsland7@BlessedMMA has given us some of the baddest moments inside the Octagon 🔥 pic.twitter.com/KkVFhFg1Td— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) January 17, 2021
Speaking to SCMP MMA ahead of that fight, ‘Blessed’ made his pick for who he thinks is currently the most exciting champion in the UFC, and said,
“I’m a striker, I like striking. So you’ve got to go with Stylebender. He brings the jazz with his dancing and all that stuff outside the Octagon. And when he goes in he does his thing. So most exciting has got to be that man right there.”
Adesanya is certainly a strong candidate for most exciting champion in the promotion right now. The City Kickboxing man knows how to make an entrance, and as Holloway suggested, he has some slick moves outside the cage.
The Yoel Romero bout aside, Adesanya has certainly produced plenty of fireworks since joining the UFC. So far, he’s been awarded Fight of the Night bonuses twice and has been awarded Performance of the Night of five occasions.
🌪🌊🔥🪨@snatchinsnacks with the #FATALITY #Avatar #thelaststylebender #godmode pic.twitter.com/35JJRoXrfq
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) January 2, 2021
The 31-year-old scored the 15th stoppage win of his career when he finished Paulo Costa at UFC 253.
Already one of the biggest stars on the roster, the Nigerian-Kiwi will have an opportunity to enhance his reputation further when he challenges Jan Blachowicz for the light heavyweight title at UFC 259.
Holloway, meanwhile, may have to wait a while before booking his next fight. Alex Volkanovski is scheduled to defend his featherweight title against Brian Ortega at UFC 260, and there doesn’t appear to be many competitive match-ups for the Hawaiian outside of the champ.
One fight that could well be in his future, though, is a rematch with Conor McGregor. ‘Notorious’ suggested during fight week for UFC 257 that he’d definitely be open to running it back with Holloway, following their first meeting that took place back in 2003.
Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) spots Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) skateboarding outside 🛹 during our interview 😄 #UFC257
Full interview for @UFCarabia: https://t.co/VIuFyBcq8z pic.twitter.com/uDL03PlapC
— Farah Hannoun (@Farah_Hannoun) January 20, 2021
