Max Holloway: "Im still in the mix at 155"

[Captaingh]

People still somehow doubt Max? He now knows how it feels to get hit by an elite LW! Coming into his next bout, he'll have the right muscle & body type to be competitive. Max is one of these dudes who learns & learns in the face of adversity!

 

[VinceArch]

Well he lost 3-2

Though his punches were feathers compared to poiriers hammers but still

That was a Winnable fight for him with some adjustments

He had Poirier hurt once so I do agree that it is a winnable fight for him but he needs to put the weight on properly. I still feel he should defend the FW belt a few more times until the weight cut becomes too hard and then he can focus on weight training and moving up to 155 full time.

 

[KORMAN]

If by mix he means cement mixer where he'll get tossed all around, and beat up, then yes.

But all jokes aside, I wouldn't be surprised if he prepared himself better for 155, and found success there.

 

[MescalineDreams]

Ahhh

got you now, then id have to agree

 

[Espresso]

His head cant be at 2 places 145,155, if he really wants to be at 155 he needs to stay there, fill out, get some muscles

Underated post

 

[fractal]

His head cant be at 2 places 145,155, if he really wants to be at 155 he needs to stay there, fill out, get some muscles

This. He can't be successful at 155 with his current physique. Dustin's not a big or powerful 155er but he looked noticeably stronger than Max. Max should stay at 145 and if he decides to make the move, he should commit to it 100%.

Then again, he's the fighter, so he knows best.

 

[louiscyphere]

“Birds fly, fishes swim, I fight,” Holloway told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “It ain’t nothing. You send me a contract with Daniel Cormier’s name on top tomorrow, you know I’m signing it. ‘DC’ I love you, my man, but I’m a fighter. It is what it is. This is a bump in the road and I can’t wait to get back. ’55 is still there. ’55 there’s a lot of challenges.

“When I lost to Dustin the first time at ’45, the ladder was so long to the belt. But the ’55 ladder, it’s right there. I’m in the mix. If I go up there I feel I’ll be right in the mix with all the top contenders. No disrespect to them, but I think it’s a fun weight class to be. We’ll see what happens.”

“Nothing really surprised me,” Holloway said. “I knew Dustin was game and he was going to show up to the fight and he did. He did that day. He got the nod and that’s what it is. I ain’t mad. I ain’t mad at him. I ain’t mad at nobody. If I wanted to win the fight I should’ve finished. I couldn’t find myself and fair play to him. He went out there and did his thing and he got the W.”

“The adjusting, whatever, I’m a fighter,” Holloway said. “If they called me up to fight tomorrow, I’ll fight tomorrow. That’s what I do. I got no excuses. I ain’t taking nothing away from Dustin. You guys will see. The next time I’m at ’55, the next time we at ’70, 185 – whatever weight class I choose to do (you will see).”

“The Blessed Express is still full steam ahead,” Holloway said. “You guys better stay buckled on because the seats is overfilling. You guys better hold on tight because if anybody ever went to Japan they have this bullet train. The Blessed Express is coming 10 times faster.”

https://mmajunkie.com/2019/05/max-holloway-im-in-the-mix-at-lightweight-despite-featherweight-return

Is he though? Im not sure if by "in the mix" he is talking about a title shot... which unfortunately i dont think he is anywhere near at this point. He would need at least a win and some luck for things to go his way. I dont see him getting that shot any time soon. Specially if Dustin beats Khabib...

The top 10 at lightweight is very crowded. As a matter of fact im not even sure how he would do against them. Lots of guys big enough to be fighting at 170 doing massive cuts. I dont think these matchups are very favorable to him.
What you think?

Holloway would crush DC, future heavyweight champ. Screen cap this

 

[Rvd Slmr]

Well he lost 3-2

All three judges scored it 49-46, awarding only the third round to Max.

 

[weaponzero2k2]

“Birds fly, fishes swim, I fight,” Holloway told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “It ain’t nothing. You send me a contract with Daniel Cormier’s name on top tomorrow, you know I’m signing it. ‘DC’ I love you, my man, but I’m a fighter. It is what it is. This is a bump in the road and I can’t wait to get back. ’55 is still there. ’55 there’s a lot of challenges.

“When I lost to Dustin the first time at ’45, the ladder was so long to the belt. But the ’55 ladder, it’s right there. I’m in the mix. If I go up there I feel I’ll be right in the mix with all the top contenders. No disrespect to them, but I think it’s a fun weight class to be. We’ll see what happens.”

“Nothing really surprised me,” Holloway said. “I knew Dustin was game and he was going to show up to the fight and he did. He did that day. He got the nod and that’s what it is. I ain’t mad. I ain’t mad at him. I ain’t mad at nobody. If I wanted to win the fight I should’ve finished. I couldn’t find myself and fair play to him. He went out there and did his thing and he got the W.”

“The adjusting, whatever, I’m a fighter,” Holloway said. “If they called me up to fight tomorrow, I’ll fight tomorrow. That’s what I do. I got no excuses. I ain’t taking nothing away from Dustin. You guys will see. The next time I’m at ’55, the next time we at ’70, 185 – whatever weight class I choose to do (you will see).”

“The Blessed Express is still full steam ahead,” Holloway said. “You guys better stay buckled on because the seats is overfilling. You guys better hold on tight because if anybody ever went to Japan they have this bullet train. The Blessed Express is coming 10 times faster.”

https://mmajunkie.com/2019/05/max-holloway-im-in-the-mix-at-lightweight-despite-featherweight-return

Is he though? Im not sure if by "in the mix" he is talking about a title shot... which unfortunately i dont think he is anywhere near at this point. He would need at least a win and some luck for things to go his way. I dont see him getting that shot any time soon. Specially if Dustin beats Khabib...

The top 10 at lightweight is very crowded. As a matter of fact im not even sure how he would do against them. Lots of guys big enough to be fighting at 170 doing massive cuts. I dont think these matchups are very favorable to him.
What you think?

From this statement and I am getting is …"I can't make 145 anymore without killing myself … Therefore I am giving the heads up that I am jumping to 155"

 

[GiSP]

He has to make a decision. Stay at FW or move up. But if he moves up he has to take a bit of time to gain muscle and move up. Ppl are talking about him as a FW at LW. Well if he gained some muscle the right way, he would no longer be a FW. Too many ppl here can’t comprehend such complex concepts, though.

Way too much blind hatred of an apparently good guy, and real fighter.

 

[Morning Star]

All three judges scored it 49-46, awarding only the third round to Max.

I had it the same.

Can Max get better? Sure he's still young. However, I don't think people in this thread are really taking into account how some of the wars he's been in and yet to be in might shorten his career. Max has already shown signs of being punch drunk at times, especially with his weird unexplained heath scare. Additionally, fighting a LW mean more competitive fights that will almost certainly shorten his career. I think he should stick to FW where he has the physical advantage and is already champ. Could end up the next Rory Mac.

 

[Franklin U.]

Got news for everybody, his frame has just about outgrown 145 and he will end up at 155 sooner than later.... for his own health. What people dont acknowledge is that he ascended a weight class for an interim and fought rather well.

Max matures and fights smarter[ 155] , I definitely see him a force at 155.


**** he does need to stop with this open weight DC talk. He always did it on UFC tonight when on FOX right at Daniel and of course DC just laughed. Hes actually being serious- Max believes pound for pound doesnt exclude weight classes but if ever fought Daniel , it would like a cartoon and I think hed finally stop......unless he got his walk around up and pass 210( hes already in 180 area which ,again, leads me to believe his 145 days are numbered. He needs to be medically cleared for these fights .....champ or no champ)

 

[MechMA]

I like Max but Conor, Gaethje, Nate, and Cowboy all beat him
Khabib absolutely steamrolls through him

 

[Gilday]

Honestly I don't disagree with him.

Poirier clearly won that fight but Holloway had his moments, if he put on some weight and got used to fighting at 155 he's probably a consistent top 5.

 

[Jon's Drug Dealer]

He won't be unless he gains a lot of muscle. His pillow fists are even less effective at LW. While he was technically competitive with Poirier, he couldn't rock him a single time in over 300 punches, while he himself was rocked probably more than anyone else in a single fight in the history of MMA. He was just flailing all over the place for 25 minutes.

 

[BJpencil]

“Birds fly, fishes swim, I fight,” Holloway told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “It ain’t nothing. You send me a contract with Daniel Cormier’s name on top tomorrow, you know I’m signing it. ‘DC’ I love you, my man, but I’m a fighter. It is what it is. This is a bump in the road and I can’t wait to get back. ’55 is still there. ’55 there’s a lot of challenges.

“When I lost to Dustin the first time at ’45, the ladder was so long to the belt. But the ’55 ladder, it’s right there. I’m in the mix. If I go up there I feel I’ll be right in the mix with all the top contenders. No disrespect to them, but I think it’s a fun weight class to be. We’ll see what happens.”

“Nothing really surprised me,” Holloway said. “I knew Dustin was game and he was going to show up to the fight and he did. He did that day. He got the nod and that’s what it is. I ain’t mad. I ain’t mad at him. I ain’t mad at nobody. If I wanted to win the fight I should’ve finished. I couldn’t find myself and fair play to him. He went out there and did his thing and he got the W.”

“The adjusting, whatever, I’m a fighter,” Holloway said. “If they called me up to fight tomorrow, I’ll fight tomorrow. That’s what I do. I got no excuses. I ain’t taking nothing away from Dustin. You guys will see. The next time I’m at ’55, the next time we at ’70, 185 – whatever weight class I choose to do (you will see).”

“The Blessed Express is still full steam ahead,” Holloway said. “You guys better stay buckled on because the seats is overfilling. You guys better hold on tight because if anybody ever went to Japan they have this bullet train. The Blessed Express is coming 10 times faster.”

https://mmajunkie.com/2019/05/max-holloway-im-in-the-mix-at-lightweight-despite-featherweight-return

Is he though? Im not sure if by "in the mix" he is talking about a title shot... which unfortunately i dont think he is anywhere near at this point. He would need at least a win and some luck for things to go his way. I dont see him getting that shot any time soon. Specially if Dustin beats Khabib...

The top 10 at lightweight is very crowded. As a matter of fact im not even sure how he would do against them. Lots of guys big enough to be fighting at 170 doing massive cuts. I dont think these matchups are very favorable to him.
What you think?

I like him but too much BJ Penn in him. Stay in the weight class you belong. You can go up all the weight classes you like and maybe even be competitive but you will take some beatings and it will shorten your career.

 

[chill doggie]

Saying he'd fight DC is kinda like Ronda saying she'd beat Cain.

Playa please, you're 5'11", skinny and punch drunk. No one is impressed by your lack of self-preservation instincts.

 

[Blayt7hh]

In most divisions he would be right. However 155 is overflowing with great contenders

 

[fortheo]

He is. He just had a war with the number one ranked LW. If he gets another defense or two at FW, then moves up, he'd probably one have to beat one or two Lightweights to get a title shot there.

 

[fortheo]

Re-watched 236 last night on ESPN+, the 2 title fights anyway, & DP/Max was a lot more competitive than I thought watching live. Round 1 was a 10-8 for sure, Max won almost all of round 2 but then got hurt at the end. Round 3 was competitive but Poirier was rocked & outlanded. Rounds 4 & 5 were about as close as a round gets. I can now see the draw that some people scored on fight night, who I thought were delusional. But Poirier clearly won the fight under pride rules, but anything from 49-45 to 47-47 is feasible giving the scoring system.

If Max is going to go back up to 155, he should do like Nunes and take 4-5 months to bulk up before going into a camp. Even tho his thighs & arms were comparable in size, his back & entire torso were noticeably much smaller. Very narrow build while Poirier has very wide shoulders & hips.

As tall as Max is I feel like he may be best suited for 145, contrary to me pushing him to move up for the last 2 years.

Round 2 and 4 were max's for 90 percent of those rounds, but dustin stole them with like two heavy flurries. Definitely a closer fight than people make it seem.