What a treat for UFC fans! On the Mighty podcast hosted by MMA World Champion “Mighty” Demetrious Johnson, an exclusive interview took place. Another in the long line of amazing guests from the world of martial arts and fighting sports, this time around it was none other than Max Holloway. The two fighters took off immediately talking about recent fights, retirement, other fighters, and many other things in this hour-long dialogue.
In this article, we go deep into what was said, what was revealed, and what could be coming based on Holloway’s answers. It is a great insight into the mind of one of the best fighting athletes as well as a great relationship with the recently retired Johnson. It is always amazing to watch a star who is comfortable during an interview, which is exactly why celebrity podcasts are so much better than traditional talk shows. Johnson is a great host, he knows the sport inside and out, and can therefore ask questions and conduct the conversation in an interesting manner. If you love the sport and enjoy betting on it on platforms like Stake, knowing this inside information is crucial to base your bets on and prepare for what is to come.
Opening Statements
After the introduction, Johnson proceeded to immediately comment on the knockout Holloway had against Justin Gaethje. He reminisced about how the move had him “giggling like a little girl,” to which Holloway laughed and said, “I did see it, I did see it brother, you a real one.” Then the guest gave the host his flowers thanking him for what he had done for the sport and congratulating him on his retirement. “First and foremost, congrats for everything you did for the sport, thank you for what you’re doing, thank you for being a leader in the octagon and outside [it]. Enjoy your retirement.” He added, “You’re somebody these kids should be looking up to.” A very nice opening by the guest as he recognizes his fellow fighter’s impact during his career and now after it as he spreads the message and promotes UFC with his amazingly popular podcast.
“You are a huge role model and you still got a lot more story to be told,” Johnson replied. Then he moved on to the Gaethje fight, asking the guest to walk him through the fight. Holloway simply stated, “I felt good. We put on the right weight. I didn’t get too big and slow, most of my advantage is speed so we wanted to keep the speed we had at 145 to 155.” He continued, “I was able to eat at the camp a little bit more but I was able to keep my speed and I did, I felt fast in there.” Speaking about the fight and his thoughts on how he did, he said “I felt like I won every round, I was tagging him up. I hit and did not get hit.” Commenting on the last 10 seconds, he added, “To land my shot before he landed he was a great feeling.” He also said that it is impossible to do that in the first 10 seconds, commenting on how people said he should have, “because it is dangerous,” which makes sense.
The Ilia Topuria Fight, Reach, Spinning Kick
At the moment of writing, the fight had already happened and Holloway sadly lost. However, the interview came 4 days prior to the fight and we got an insight into how a fighter thinks and what he hopes for in such a high-profile duel. Holloway said, “I feel good, I’m a numbers guy, I like tracking stuff and we’ve been tracking my weight. I’m way ahead, I feel strong, I can’t wait to fight this guy.” He also talked about his weight management and how big he needed to be. “I like keeping everyone guessing.” And that is a good tactic because why give potential opponents an idea about your workout and weight management regime?
Then the pair touched upon how Max never gets taken down. Johnson said, “You seem to have the longer reach on people because of the way you move in and out, but the numbers don’t lie.” Max enjoyed the question, saying, “Finally someone agrees with me, you got the best mind in MMA.” This goes to show that the best host is someone from the same field as the guests. For sports, that is always going to be another athlete, whether former or current. Later on, he said how Topuria “always has something nice to say. Be a nice guy. He is an odd little man. I want the Best Ilia Topuria come October 26.” As we know now, he did get him.
Talking about the spinning kick that Holloway pulled against Gaethje, the fighter said, “My spinning back kick is not one you teach. Everyone’s spinning kick is a distance kick. I like trying mine when we are close to close, head to head. My favorite one is the jumping out one.” He adds, “People don’t expect it when you’re that close.” He commented on how many said he got lucky that he managed to break the opponent’s nose with the kick, to which he just said, “Yeah, ’cause I didn’t throw the kick.” There are always many fans commenting how it was something else that lost the fight for a fighter, and not what the opponent has done. In this case, it was Max’s tactics and the risky decision that turned it around, not a lucky coincidence.
Talking about the future of his career, Max said, “I want to get my face edged on the MMA Mount Rushmore next to your face brother.” This came after they touched up the potential Islam Makhachev fight and how he could be ducking Holloway. “Why not be able to fight Islam? [He] never ever wanted to fight me.” Maybe they do get a fight scheduled sometime down the line, who knows?
Kick Streaming and Gaming
In a topic unrelated to his day job of octagon fights, Halloway and Johnson talked about gaming and streaming on the popular online platform Kick.com. Answering how he is enjoying his time streaming on the platform, he revealed, “I’m loving it, Kick is fun, Kick is cool. It is great, I love streaming, interacting with friends, being able to talk…life’s good.” Johnson proceeded to ask Halloway what his favorite games are and whether he enjoys gambling on the website. Max answered,” I do it for fun, I love playing slots. Slots are fun, slots are good, I like doing gambling streams ‘cause I can talk to the chat and interact [with them].” He talked about games too, saying, “ I play Apex [Legends], I got back on [it]. I’m super competitive so I want to play ranked and I’m locked in. I’m trying to lock in and win.”
Then they talked about parenting a little bit and if his son has started playing games with Max. “No, he actually got into a private school so he got to catch the bus super early and then he gets home super late. He is focusing on school.” He quickly turned the topic to school troubles, revealing how his son got homework and that he had to turn it in by midnight that day. Demetrius then said, “Our children don’t come with instructions” commenting on how difficult and challenging fatherhood can be and how much irrelevant stuff is done at school. Max said how his child is doing maths in a different way than when he went to school and how he cannot help her with the homework. Raising kids is indeed hard! Johnson agrees as his son also has to do it differently than him.
In another family-related story, Halloway revealed an interesting story from the earliest days of his professional career. Max said that he got his UFC contract the day his son was born. “The same exact day he was born I got my UFC contract a couple hours before he came into this world.” How amazing is that? Two of the biggest things in his life happened on the same day! “At 10 AM I got my contract and at 3 o’clock I got him, a super insane day for me. It’s insane.”
Commenting on Other Fights
When asked about potentially fighting Connor McGregor, despite the legend probably never fighting again after retiring, he revealed, “I’m not too crazy about it, but if the opportunity came you’d be dumb as hell not to take that fight. Financially, that can change a lot of people’s life.” He then summarised, “If it’s there, we got a contract, we had a date, why not, any weight, I’d fight that man at any weight.” Reminiscing on his previous fights, he stated, “Actually, I was probably the only fighter that he took down in the UFC.” Then he joked about how he hurt his ankle in that fight and how things might have been different, going back to the comments of others about how there is always something to blame for a fighter’s loss.
Johnson agreed, “If you get the opportunity to fight Connor, it is life-changing,” and not just financially but for exposure as well. He does so much away from the sport too and is an entertainment legend, not just a former fighter. McGregor has so much money and fame that he does not want to fight anymore, he does not need to. He is building his brand and reached a level where he can do other things, and does them. For others waiting on a fight against someone like that is not always the best course of action because they could very well never step into the ring again.
Breaking Down Whittaker VS Chimaev
When asked about his predictions and thoughts about the match, Max said, “Whittaker is a beast, he is smart. I’m rolling with Robert Whittaker all the way.” That did not take long, but alas, it was not to be. On the same day, he lost his own fight, Whittaker lost to Khamzat Chimaev by submission. This goes to show how uncertain things can be. With UFC online sports betting, it is never easy to pick the winner when the fighters are of equal strength and form. Max picked himself to win and missed, he picked Chimaev to lose and he won. When the sportsbooks get it wrong, it is easy to get mad and disappointed and then not trust them again. But what happens when the fighters themselves miss the mark? It is normal because there is so much that can go wrong for one of them, and so much right for the other. You simply never know.
Max Holloway Career Stats and Record
Halloway is a veteran of mixed martial arts currently competing in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions of the UFC. He is a former Featherweight Champion and the current UFC BMF Champion. His career started in 2010 and since then he has a total record of 36 wins and 8 losses in 34 matches. He won 12 matches by knockout, 2 by submission, and 12 by decision. He lost once by knockout, once by submission, and 6 times by decision.
Nicknamed “The Pride of Hawaii” and “Blessed”, he stands at 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) and weighs 145 lb (66 kg). His reach is 69 inches or 175 cm. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, US, in 1991. Max fights out of Waianae, Hawaii, and is a member of the Gracie Technics team. He has a brown belt in Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu. Most recently, he lost by knockout for the first time in his career as he attempted to retake the UFC Featherweight Championship in a fight against Ilia Topuria at UFC 308.
Before this, he beat Justin Gaethje by total knockout at UFC 300 after the now-famous spinning back kick. It is not yet familiar when his next fight is going to be nor against whom. Stay tuned for more as there are always new developments in the exciting world of MMA and UFC.