Max Holloway: “Depression Is Real And That Really Hit Me Hard, I Was Going Through A Phase Where I Wasn’t Talking To No One Except My Son”
Yesterday was the world’s Mental Health Day. Its main purpose is to help people overcome their mental problems. The current UFC Featherweight champion, Max Holloway, opened up about his battle with depression. He is in a really critical situation since UFC 226!
Max Holloway was the Fighter Of The Year in 2017. He had very big plans for 2018. Yet, it happened to be the most catastrophic year of his whole career! His fight versus Frankie Edgar was slated for UFC 222, but Blessed had to withdraw due to a leg injury. He should step in as a replacement for injured Tony Ferguson at UFC 223. It was his chance to become the two-division champion. Yet, he was pulled out of the card due to the severity of his weight cut.
But the biggest shock happened at UFC 226! Holloway was scheduled to defend UFC Featherweight title versus Brian Ortega on July 7, 2018. But he had to pull away on July 4th due to “concussion-like symptoms”! It was too much for Blessed. Max Holloway described his tough battle against depression during his speech on Good Show with Ben Ennis & JD Bunkis yesterday. (via MMAFighting.com)
“It just helped me as a person realize that sometimes you gotta slow things down to get things back correct,” Holloway said of his recent struggles. “After this last one I dealt with some depression. I was talking about [NBA star DeMar] DeRozan. DeRozan talked about depression and that really shook me. He said that he wished that everybody was rich, that everybody in the world had money so they could understand that money does not make you happy.
“Depression is real and that really hit me hard. I was going through a phase where I wasn’t talking to no one. Only my son. Me and my son would do stuff but I was talking to no one. If I wanted to you I would call you but if people were reaching out to me I was putting myself away. Since I was in that situation, now I’m able to talk about it and I can tell people that’s not the way to do it. The way to do it is talk to your family, talk to your friends, be with everyone because you don’t know when things can change. Life changes on a dime so live life to the fullest.”
But one thing cut Max Holloway wide open. The reason for his withdrawal from Brian Ortega fight at UFC 226 is officially unknown yet! Three months have passed! His rematch versus Brian Ortega is set for UFC 231 on December 8, 2018, inside Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada.
Max Holloway kindly advised everybody not to be afraid of seeking for help. According to Blessed, nobody is superhuman.
“Don’t be scared to look for help,” Holloway said. “Depression is real. . . It’s crazy and all these guys, us athletes, that keep thinking we’re superheroes. I like to think I’m a superhero but superheroes got to fight their demons too sometimes.”
Are you shocked? Who would even assume Max Holloway has those kinds of problems? Inside the octagon, he is one of the most dominant fighters ever seen!
