"This guy can turn it on" - When Max Holloway recalled his only off-camera interaction with Conor McGregor
Max Holloway has been calling out former foe Conor McGregor while preparing for his upcoming Fight Night battle with Yair Rodriguez.
Despite losing in their clash eight years ago, Max Holloway has always been respectful towards Conor McGregor as an athlete, and the Irishman has returned the favor. In December 2019, ahead of his title fight against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 245, Max Holloway opened up about his sole off-camera interaction with Conor McGregor.
'Blessed' was asked if he ever had a conversation with McGregor face-to-face or over text messages. Here's what Holloway said:
"Not really DM. When I fought him... It's a funny story. When I fought him, we were standing in line to go do our medicals... He was wearing these cool Hawaii shorts. I was like 'Cool shorts, bro!' And he was like, 'Yeah, you like that, right? It's a Hawaii Five,' and I was like, 'That's dope' and he was like 'Yeah, thank you!' And then when we went out there and we did the face-off, he kind of got into my face, and it kind of tricked me off, and I was like, 'Oh wow, this guy can turn it on'. It is what it is," Max Holloway said.
Max Holloway and Conor McGregor have only had one one off-camera interaction. @BlessedMMA tells the tale (via @marc_raimondi) https://t.co/FIM3CyjXoM
Here's a snapshot of the face-off between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway ahead of their UFC Fight Night 26 clash in 2013.
Conor McGregor & Max Holloway are about to face off inside @tdgarden in Boston. Who you got?? #UFCFightNight http://t.co/YjxdkOnh5E
Max Holloway: "I'm on a shortlist for Conor McGregor"
Max Holloway and Conor McGregor have gone back and forth on social media with 'Blessed' suggesting a March encounter between the two.
In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, the former featherweight champion stated that he was always on a 'shortlist' of possible opponents for Conor McGregor. He hinted at a possible rematch in the future at T-Mobile Arena or the Raiders Stadium. For now, however, Max Holloway's attention is on his current opponent, Yair Rodriguez.
"I'm on a shortlist for Conor McGregor," asserted Max Holloway. "Always on the shortlist for that fight! And I'm the best boxer in UFC baby!...that guy [McGregor] was chirping...I think Conor, he's always going for Nate, always talking about Dustin but if you go call Hunter [Campbell] with the UFC and ask him who's the guy that sells PPV's...my name [will] always come up. Maybe in the T-Mobile Arena or Raiders stadium but we'll see...we'll see what happens, we got Yair [Rodriguez] on Saturday, that's my full focus," Holloway told TMZ.
Watch Max Holloway's interview with TMZ Sports below: