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Just days away from Khabib Nurmagomedov's Lightweight Championship fight against Tony Ferguson, an unfortunate injury sidelined the interim champ, Ferguson. In steps the stud 145 pound UFC Champion in 26-year-old Max "Blessed" Holloway, to take his place, save the card, and possibly cement his legacy.
If Max manages to beat Khabib on April 7th, he will become only the second UFC Fighter to hold 2 Championships simultaneously, the first being the Notorious Conor McGregor. On 6 days' notice, no matter how insanely dominant Khabib has been over his last 25 fights, Holloway is by no means an easy fight.
Will the Blessed one become the second double champ in UFC History? No one knows, but in order to give you a better idea of what Max can do in the cage, it's time to run down his 5 best performances.
1) UFC 212 vs Jose Aldo 1
To kick off this list, we have to travel to Rio Brazil in June of 2017. Max Holloway had just earned the UFC Interim Featherweight belt, and in order to unify the championships, he had to face Jose Aldo. A man who had held the Featherweight division on lock for almost a decade before being trounced by Conor McGregor, Aldo had been made Featherweight Champion again due to McGregor's absence, and remained no less of a challenge for the young Hawaiian. Not only did Max have to get past a man who many consider to be the greatest Featherweight of all time, but he had to do it in the Brazilian's backyard.
Max Holloway executed a well-planned strategy, holding his own and staying just out of Aldo's finishing zone for 2 rounds, before wearing him down and taking out the former champ with a flurry of punches. There are many moments that can be considered Max's slingshot into stardom, but this was the one that made him an undisputed Champion.
2) UFC on Fox 15 vs Cub Swanson
Cub Swanson has been a respected stalwart of Mixed Martial Arts in the UFC & WEC for over a decade. That didn't stop Max Holloway from tapping him out with a vicious guillotine choke in 2015.
In the middle of his now infamous winning streak, Max walked down Swanson for 3 whole rounds, tagging him with combinations and keeping him at bay with strikes. Then with Cub weakened in the 3rd round, Max took him to the floor and after attempting an arm triangle, sat him back down, transitioned to the choke and forced the gritty Swanson to give up.
This wasn't the start or the Championship in Max's win streak, but beating Swanson was still an extremely impressive feat.
3) UFC 218 vs Jose Aldo 2
Originally scheduled to face Frankie Edgar at UFC 218, Jose Aldo had to be subbed in as a late replacement due to an injury sustained by Edgar during training. This gave the Brazilian former champ a chance at redemption, to avenge his loss and derail the young lion who took him out a few months prior.
What's so impressive about this victory isn't just that Max beat the great Aldo, or that he did it twice in a row. Max proved his mettle here by doing so without flinching. Accepting a dangerous fight on short notice for his first defense, Holloway stuck to his gameplan and took out Aldo in almost the exact same fashion as at UFC 212.
Holloway once again weathered the storm of Aldo, piling on the pressure for 3 rounds before finishing him off once and for all.
4) UFC 206 vs Anthony Pettis
The bout that gave Holloway his first taste of gold in the UFC, the brilliance of his performance against Anthony Pettis cannot be understated. The fight had an odd feel going in as Pettis had missed weight, meaning that only Holloway was eligible to become Interim Featherweight Champion.
However, Holloway didn't allow this to ruin his fight, as he stormed into the cage and took on the former Lightweight champ with great skill. Holloway used his accurate striking and leg kicks to attack and nullify every move thrown at him.
Finally, in the 3rd round, Holloway changed his status from rising challenger to Champion in the UFC. He used a vital body kick to discombobulate Pettis and pile on a barrage of punches, forcing a stoppage and earning the UFC Interim Featherweight Championship.
5) UFC 199 vs Ricardo Lamas
No matter what Max Holloway has done, or will do in his UFC career, no moment will be more synonymous with the Hawaiian's sheer fighting spirit than his UFC 199 bout against Ricardo Lamas. Holloway sealed his shot by extending his win streak to 9 over a strong competitor in Lamas, but he did so in the most stylish way possible.
After edging out Lamas over 3 rounds, with 10 seconds to go, Holloway pointed to the ground and said: "Let's Bang!" What followed was one of the most insane exchanges in UFC history and what's so amazing is that these two agreed to it, going all out in one last attempt to come out on top.
The one who did, however, was Holloway. This wasn't Holloway's most dominant win, like against Jose Aldo, and while it didn't garner him UFC gold like against Pettis, it was the performance that sent Max into the stratosphere as a bonafide stud, a fact that has come full circle with his latest gutsy agreement to take on Khabib Nurmagomedov this Saturday!
