“This time we doubled that" - Max Holloway on how preparations for Justin Gaethje fight at UFC 300 differ from Dustin Poirier rematch in 2019
Max Holloway promises a "different" version of himself when he steps into the octagon at UFC 300 on April 13. The former featherweight king will face Justin Gaethje for the BMF title in his second foray into the lightweight division.
Holloway's last attempt at lightweight came five years ago at UFC 236, where he lost a one-sided decision to Dustin Poirier in an interim lightweight title fight.
Appearing in a recent interview with MMA Junkie, he acknowledged the shortcomings of that fight citing limited training camp:
"Everybody keeps talking about the Poirier fight; I hate bringing it up. But like I said, we had six weeks to get ready for that. That's barely a fight camp. That's not even a fight camp. That's kind of crazy"
This time around, with a full training camp leading into UFC 300, Holloway is confident he'll showcase a significant improvement.
"This time we doubled that. We just had time. We had time on our side for this one. There's a lot of questions that people have been asking, and I can't wait to (give) them answers April 13."
Check out Max Holloway's comments below:
This upcoming fight holds significant implications for Holloway's career trajectory. A win over Gaethje could propel him towards a title shot at featherweight against the new champion, Ilia Topuria. Alternatively, the victory could also solidify his path at lightweight.
Max Holloway seeks to stay relevant, targets win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300
Max Holloway recently shed light on his decision to face Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. While his sights were set on regaining the featherweight title, the Hawaiian fighter worried about being sidelined as the sport evolves.
Holloway explained his reasoning in a recent interview, emphasizing his fear of becoming irrelevant due to inactivity:
"I thought that if Topuria was to beat Volk in any way, Volk gets a direct rematch. Volk did enough work to earn himself a direct rematch. And then with the Gaethje situation, who knew that Charles was gonna get a bad cut, and Islam couldn't turn around and fight. You wait in this sport, the sport goes by you, and it goes by you quick."
Check out Max Holloway's comments below: