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Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway, who will be looking to regain the gold from Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 276 this weekend, has quickly become known as one of the best strikers in MMA.
Holloway’s stand-up style is based largely around volume rather than power, and while ‘Blessed’ is often praised for throwing an abnormally high number of strikes, fans have posed the question - Is this a good or bad thing?
The truth is that while the style has been massively successful for the Hawaiian thus far, it might not be the best idea for him going forward.
Here are five reasons why Max Holloway’s striking numbers might come at a greater cost.
#5. Focusing on volume might mean Max Holloway lets his opponents off the hook
As of late, Max Holloway has become known for throwing a mind-boggling number of strikes in his bouts. He broke the record for the most strikes landed in a single fight when he hit Calvin Kattar with 445 shots, only to then land another 230 on Yair Rodriguez in his most recent bout.
However, you’ve now got to rewind back to 2018 for his bout with Brian Ortega which was the last time that ‘Blessed’ finished an opponent inside the octagon.
Naturally, there’s no shame in going the distance with fighters like Frankie Edgar, Alexander Volkanovski, Kattar, and Rodriguez, but it’s also interesting to ask whether Holloway’s focus on volume striking has consequently dulled his killer instinct.
For instance, could Holloway have finished Kattar had he turned up the heat on the Massachusetts native? It’s definitely a question worth asking, particularly when you take into consideration how one-sided the bout was.
Sure, Holloway could make this a moot point by stopping Volkanovski this weekend, but it’s definitely fair to question whether Holloway's focus on volume is allowing opponents off the hook, something that could come back to haunt ‘Blessed’ in the future.
#4. Max Holloway sometimes leaves himself open to being hit
While Max Holloway’s newly-discovered love for volume striking has led to the number of blows he lands on opponents to skyrocket in recent bouts, it’s safe to say that he’s also leaving himself more open to receiving strikes in response.
Holloway has always thrown a lot of shots, considering he landed over 100 strikes on Ricardo Lamas and Jose Aldo each before really switching his style up. However, those fights saw him absorb far fewer strikes than he has been recently.
For reference, Lamas landed a total of 64 strikes on him over three rounds, while Frankie Edgar caught him on 96 occasions.
In his recent fights with Yair Rodriguez and Calvin Kattar, which saw ‘Blessed’ land a ridiculous 675 combined strikes, he ate a total of 292 in response.
Thus far, at least, the Hawaiian has gotten away with his high-volume output, but as the shots add up, he could be one strike away from finding himself completely knocked out. Essentially, it’s a risky strategy that could backfire at any time.
#3. Max Holloway might get taken down
Prior to Max Holloway’s shift in style, the UFC's most well-known volume strikers were undoubtedly the Diaz brothers.
Both men largely perfected this style, essentially peppering their opponents with volume strikes while mixing in the occasional power shot to cause more damage.
However, the Diaz brothers always had a form of kryptonite, as their volume-heavy boxing style would frequently leave them open to takedowns and leg kicks.
Holloway’s switch to a similar style shouldn’t necesarily cause him to become susceptible to low kicks, given that he’s already an excellent kickboxer who is as well-rounded as any other striker in the featherweight division.
Could it leave him open to takedowns though? That is worth considering. The only top wrestler that Holloway has fought with in recent years was Frankie Edgar, and ‘The Answer’, who is much smaller than Holloway was arguably past his prime at the time of that fight.
It’s true that Holloway’s takedown defense has been relatively tight for years now, but with grapplers like Movsar Evloev now climbing the ladder, it’s something that could be tested heavily against future opponents.
Therefore, if he acts anything like the Diaz brothers and focuses too much on his boxing rather than his wrestling, he could be in trouble.
#2. Max Holloway’s style requires a huge gas tank
Given that he has thrown over 400 strikes in both of his last two fights, it’s safe to say that Max Holloway’s volume striking is one of the most exhausting to pull off in the entire UFC.
‘Blessed’ is averaging well over 70 strikes per round, and to do that takes an absolutely mind-blowing gas tank. Thankfully for the Hawaiian, his cardio has held up remarkably (at least to this point). In truth, it’s hard to recall a fight that saw Holloway look tired.
However, the Hawaiian only turned 30 years old last December, meaning that he’s still in his athletic prime right now. As that prime starts to fade over the next few years, will Holloway’s cardio be able to hold up to such a taxing style?
It’s definitely a fair question, especially when armed with the knowledge that ‘Blessed’ is known to cut a large amount of weight to make the 145 lbs featherweight limit. Cutting that much weight can definitely impact a fighter’s gas tank.
Focusing on volume when he appears to have endless amounts of energy is one thing, but what happens to Holloway when those energy levels aren’t quite there? Will he be able to adjust to a different style?
#1. Max Holloway’s style might affect his chin and longterm durability
Unsurprising, given that he debuted in the octagon in early 2012, it feels like Max Holloway has been around in the UFC forever. Remarkably, though, the Hawaiian is still young relative to most high-level MMA competitors.
While Holloway should still be in his physical prime, it’s safe to say that he’s taken plenty of damage over the years.
Sure, nobody has ever stopped the Hawaiian with strikes, though he’s only been finished once via submission against Dustin Poirier, but how much longer can his chin hold up is another question entirely.
That question could become even more important as Holloway switches to a more volume-based striking style. As we mentioned earlier, ‘Blessed’ now seems to be absorbing more shots than he once did, and while his chin has held up so far, that might not be the case forever.
Holloway was already forced out of the competition with “concussion-like symptoms” in 2018, and realistically, there’s no telling whether the issue was linked to him eating so many shots or not.
The Hawaiian might be able to eat big shots easily now, but in the future, that might change, particularly if he remains happy to absorb one strike in order to fire back with four or five.
With that considered, this style's impact on his future durability is a big question mark moving forward.
