Max Holloway explains what impressed him the most about Calvin Kattar during their fight
Max Holloway has nothing but good things to say about his most recent opponent Calvin Kattar.
The two featherweights clashed in the main event of UFC Fight Island 7, kicking things off for the promotion's 2021 schedule on January 16. Max Holloway put up one of the best performances of his career, making an ace comeback from his two consecutive defeats to Alexander Volkanovski.
His opponent Calvin Kattar was not too far behind. ESPN's Ariel Helwani noted after the fight that Max Holloway had landed a record-breaking 445 significant strikes, as per UFC stats.
With the fight going the distance, it is needless to say that Calvin Kattar getting hit by that many significant strikes and still standing till the end is a testament to his fortitude.
Max Holloway: This guy is a puncher
Generous as 'Blessed' always is, he recently spoke highly of Calvin Kattar during his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Max Holloway threw light on how Calvin Kattar held his own against Max Holloway's pummeling throughout the five rounds and showed up with a comeback strike every time Holloway thought it was almost over.
"It takes two. I tell everybody that the reason I didn't hit these numbers against [Brian] Ortega is because we only went four rounds. Ortega is a different beast too... [Calving] Kattar was like crazy. I think in one of the rounds... I think in the third or fourth round, I hit him and he was gone. I was like 'He was gone' turning around and I was like 'Oh this guy is not walking out for the fifth round, there's no way'... and he was jumping up and down! I was like, 'Okay then, there's my answer, would you feel like getting punched some more, my friend? We're gonna do this."
"You see him get to that moment, like you could feel it, it's right there. And he just throw like a bomb and he lands it on me. I am like 'What! Come on man!' ... This guy's a puncher. This guy can put someone down."
As memorable as Max Holloway's performance itself was, he managed to make it a tad bit more exceptional by talking to the commentators present in the middle of the fight.
Known for his camaraderie with former UFC two-division champ Daniel Cormier who was serving as a color commentator cage-side, Max Holloway addressed DC and said, "I'm the best boxer in the UFC!"