Max Holloway makes emotional plea for families affected by Hawaii wildfires - "The people were let down, the government failed"
Hawaiian native Max Holloway recently shed light on the devastation that the community of Lahaina has endured during the catastrophic Maui wildfires.
The fires took hold of the island last week after a downed power line caused a fire that ignited almost 80% of the town of Lahaina. Residents of the town were not notified of the rapidly-spreading flames, and emergency sirens that were built for this exact purpose could not be heard anywhere.
The death toll is currently at 101, but as Max Holloway mentioned, the number should rise sharply as the search throughout Lahaina continues.
'Blessed' was recently interviewed by MMA journalist Aaron Bronsteter, where Holloway urged people to donate and help wherever possible. But Max Holloway also made sure to highlight how badly the government and municipality of Lahaina had failed its citizens. He said this:
"The people of Lahaina were let down. The state, the government, they failed. No sirens, no warnings, no nothing. And now that's what they have, nothing. Families gone, death tolls on the rise, missing people... 99 deaths and that number's gonna jump dramatically as they keep going. They've only searched like 9% or 10% of the area."
Max Holloway then continued by saying:
"The people that are affected directly, stay strong. Us people are with you. Shoutout to, when the state and the government felt like they was lolly-gagging, the people that stepped up and helped the people who needed help... If you are donating please do your research on who you're donating to."
Watch the video below:
Max Holloway breaks down Aljamain Sterling vs. Sean O'Malley at UFC 292
Max Holloway recently shared his thoughts on the UFC 292 main event between Aljamain Sterling and Sean O'Malley.
The expectation heading into this weekend is that it is a "classic" wrestler versus striker matchup, with Sterling holding the superior grappling pedigree. But 'Blessed' believes O'Malley's grappling should not be overlooked.
Holloway broke down the UFC 292 headliner on his YouTube channel, where he mentioned O'Malley's submission win over MMA and grappling legend Takanori Gomi in a BJJ competition called Quintet, which took place in 2019.
'Blessed' said this:
"I think a lot of people are not giving Sean O'Malley credit, this guy grappled - and I know it's just grappling, no striking - but he did submit Takanori Gomi with a guillotine. So never say never. We don't get to see much of his ground game, but I'm sure [O'Malley] can hold his own."
Watch the video below from 6:40: