Max Holloway: A throwback

A common statement across contacts sports, at least at the professional level is that the modern day athlete is “soft.” Especially in the NBA, due to nature of the modern game we see less fights, less “bully ball” one could say. In football, the days of the hard hitters is a thing of the past, their play style negated by the rules governing their sports. Even in boxing, the fighters themselves still bring the intensity and pain associated with the combat sport but its governing bodies do well to step in before things get out of hand. The days of fighting to the death are no more and for good reason. In MMA or the UFC to be particular, it is a true treat to watch fighters exercise their skills and expertise in the multiple disciplines of fighting. However it is a rare treat to see the sheer brazen attitudes of the past, only replicated in video games of the scrapper. The punisher. Today’s fighters are very calculated, disciplined and they understand the game so well that they’re not gonna put themselves in harms way until necessary. It is a smart strategy and though we see fighters who love to strike and strike with high efficiency, non compare on the level of Max Holloway.

When Holloway is fighting, my heart races with anxiety. This is partly due to Holloway’s patented defensive technique of blocking punches with his face. Yet when Holloway seems stunned, it’s typically the moment where he turns up the heat and lays a barrage of strikes to his opponents. Once holding the record for most landed strikes, Holloway is cold and calculated in the octagon but as displayed in his many wars, especially against Ricardo Lamas, Holloway is in fact down for that action. Yet, his head movement and counter striking abilities are bar none in the sport. Holloway, raised in Waianae, raises his game to a level not even the best professionals go. He is a video game, he is a scrapper. Perhaps because of his rough Waianae upbringing or due to his adverse road in the UFC but when Holloway takes on Yair Rodriguez (a phenomenal striker in his own right) we will be thrown back into a time clocking somebody just because was a celebrated and encouraged activity of sportsman. All I say is that this is not a sustainable way to compete so I will enjoy it as long as I can knowing that when the gloves are hung up, Holloway will be an icon of violence.