Max Holloway backs Alex Pereira to win 2024 Fighter of the Year award: "That's a hard man to beat"
Max Holloway has given the distinction of Fighter of the Year to Alex Pereira amid both having massive 2024 campaigns. This is quite the praise considering the impact that Holloway himself has made inside of the octagon this calendar year.
In an interview with Kevin Iole, Holloway discussed several subjects in the lead-up to his next fight at UFC 308. When the subject was brought up regarding if the former UFC featherweight champion is the 2024 Fighter of the Year, Max Holloway said:
"I mean I don't know, man. I don't know that I would do that [laughs]. The way Alex [Pereira] took fights. I mean the fastest guy to defend his title, right, with three title defenses. That's a hard man to beat. I mean every time I'm in the talks for it, somebody's having a crazy a** year. I think Alex Pereira has got that win in the bag already."
Check out Max Holloway's comments below (0:32):
Max Holloway's case for 2024 Fighter of the Year
Max Holloway, as mentioned, could easily be a FOTY candidate when all is said and done as we encroach into 2025. Although the gaethje-titleholder" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">BMF champion has not been quite as active this year as the Brazilian KO artist, Holloway has shone brightly this year.
The 32-year-old largely had a masterclass performance earlier this year at arguably the biggest pay-per-view the company did this year. While he did taste the canvas briefly in what was an unofficial knockdown, Holloway predominantly put it on Justin Gaethje.
'Blessed' came into this April bout at UFC 300 as a sizable underdog with many writing him off against the former interim UFC lightweight champion and then-reigning BMF champion in Gaethje.
Holloway could have easily cruised to a dominant win via decision but in an iconic moment, he would point to the ground in the waning seconds of the fight. This gesture conveyed to Gaethje he wanted to bang out the remaining moments of the bout.
This saw Holloway land a buzzer beater KO with his overhand right faceplanting Gaethje and even further cementing the already hall of fame worthy legacy he has.
The native of Hawaii found himself in the lightweight rankings with this win but he now re-focuses upon the division he predominantly fights in. Holloway moves back down to 145 pounds on Oct. 26 with the aim of not only handing Ilia Topuria his first professional MMA loss but to unseat him from being the featherweight champion.
Max Holloway becoming a two-time UFC featherweight champion at UFC 308 would certainly put him high up in that running for FOTY with Alex Pereira if he gets his ideal outcome in the coming days.