Fans have wondered what a rematch between Max Holloway and Conor McGregor would look like. It seems that the UFC is interested in this on some level, according to the Hawaiian.
When Holloway and McGregor fought for the first time, it was back in 2013. It was a tough fight for both, as it was Max’s last loss until 2019, and Conor suffered a torn ACL during the bout.
With both men going on their own paths and finding varying degrees of success, fans have long pondered what a rematch between the two would look like. This was only amplified during the lead-up to McGregor’s rematch with Dustin Poirier, another fight with similar circumstances.
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The UFC Wanted The Conor McGregor Rematch
As it turns out, the UFC was also quite interested in the prospect of Max Holloway vs Conor McGregor 2. When speaking in a recent episode of the Food Truck Diaries, the Hawaiian explained that he had talks with the promotion for the fight.
That said, he made it clear that given McGregor’s recent loss, and Max being in prime position for another crack at the title at 145lb, it is not happening now. However he would be open to the rematch later down the line.
“I’m not here to kick a man while he’s down, but I think that fight with me and Conor is on a very short list with the UFC,” Holloway said.
“If he was to win the fight (with Poirier) I think it would have been a little bit different, a little bit greater. I think that fight would have happened, but we’ve got nothing but time.
“He’s not going nowhere, I’m not going nowhere. Build the man back up, I’m going to keep doing my thing, let him do his thing… The UFC, we had talks here and there about it. It’s on a very short list for the UFC and I’m just excited for it.”
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Max Holloway Explains Decision To Quit Sparring
For his last two fights, Max Holloway made the decision to not spar. This has resulted in two of his best performances to date, in particular with his record-setting win over Calvin Kattar earlier this year.
This decision to stop sparring was one that took a lot of people by surprise, but Max says it was a long time coming. After having a ton of gym wars over the years, he feels it better to preserve himself and avoid the injuries that come from sparring.
“When I was 16 years old and I was sparring kickboxing, I would spar every day. I remember when I cam over to the team I’m with now… and we’d only spar once a week and I was like ‘What the hell is this s—t, we need to get in there.’ I was jus that hungry dog,” Holloway explained.
“It comes to a point where I started getting hurt so much before my fights. You’re doing one thing so much, I’m using this tool, getting this tool sharpened for the fight, and I hurt it in sparring and I can’t use it for the fight. So I’m sharpening this knife, and at the end I can’t use this knife anymore, I’ve got to take this butter knife with me.”
From there, Max Holloway explained that he wants to use the knowledge that he has learned from sparring to show the younger people coming up what not to do. He hopes to inspire the next generation to not keep making the same mistakes.
“We’re just trying to help the next people get there without having to go through what we went through. Like we’re trying to tell you an easier way, why are you trying to take the exact some way as us?” Holloway said.
“I’m telling you exactly what I did. I took this door, don’t take it. Take this door. People don’t get it, if they want to learn that way they’ll learn that way. But if I get to inspire someone and change the game, then I’ll change it.”
It is hard to deny that the decision for Max Holloway to stop sparring is likely going to add some time to the end of his fighting career. Considering he is not even 30 years old yet, it will be exciting to see how the rest of his career unfolds.
