Is Max Holloway embarrassed by BJ Penn?

[Pancake Sprawl]

Max never seems to name drop BJ. It's curious because they're both from a small island where BJ is a local legend. I don't expect Max to badmouth BJ so it could be a situation where if you cant say anything good, don't say anything at all.

Max is probably embarrassed for Hawaii that BJ is/was the face of MMA for the island. That BJ is not repping Hawaii properly both in the cage and out.

Perhaps BJ is resentful that Max is now the best fighter from the island ever. Max may not have the same cult following but performance wise he has already surpassed BJ.

Yes, I saw the video of their joint interview. They were praising each other. I would not expect otherwise especially from a pre-champ Max who was all of 23 years old.

they're not from the same island. Hawaii is an archipelago of islands. there's 7 islands, and Max is from Oahu while BJ Penn is from the Big Island that's named "Hawaii".