Max Holloway was all but done with featherweight after his fantastic, Fight of the Year epic lightweight battle with Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. After all, the fan favorite brawler had already fought and lost to then-featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski thrice. And it seemed time for him to move on to new pastures. And what a way to move up. Holloway and Gaethje went to war for five rounds, with ‘Blessed’ knocking ‘The Highlight’ out cold in the dying seconds of their mega-event clash.
But things changed quickly as they do in the UFC. Ilia Topuria knocked out Volkanovski to become the new featherweight champ at UFC 298, and the UFC knew exactly who ‘La Leyenda’ would fight as his first title defense! Max Holloway. Alas, that went horribly for the Hawaiian former featherweight champ, who suffered the first knockout loss of his career in their UFC 308 clash. And Topuria and Joe Rogan feel that the move back down to 145lbs was a very bad move on ‘Blessed’s part.
“I’m a fan of ‘Volk’ and Max Holloway. Well, actually, they were the smartest guys that I ever faced inside the Octagon. I felt that they were smart, they had that fight IQ, they know how to fight,” Topuria said on episode #166 of the JRE MMA show. “Do you think Max Holloway made a mistake in going up to ’55 and then back down to ’45 again? ‘Cuz he got big when he fought [Justin Gaethje],” Rogan asked. Which, surprisingly, was answered in an emphatic affirmative by ‘La Leyenda’. “100%,” he agreed.
“Yeah, I think so too,” Rogan continued. “He looked too compromised. He didn’t look healthy at ’45.” Which prompted Topuria to point out that Holloway went “crazy for the title shot. He was like ‘[I want to] take the gold.’”
MMA: UFC 298-Volkanovski vs Topuria Feb 17, 2024 Anaheim, California, USA Ilia Topuria fights against Alexander Volkanovski during UFC 298 at Honda Center. Anaheim Honda Center, California, USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xGaryxA.xVasquezx 20240217_gav_sv5_175
And ironically, Topuria even stated ahead of UFC 308 that Holloway was way too big for 145lbs. In a conversation with Kevin Iole, he said, “In reality, Max Holloway is bigger than Justin Gaethje. The only thing that he cuts more weight than him. But in reality, he belongs to the 155lbs division. He’s very tall. He’s not that skinny [like] people imagine. In reality, he’s a 155 fighter.”
This brought Rogan to what he feels was the main reason Holloway lost to the Spanish-Georgian former champ. Besides being a veteran of the sport for the past 15+ years, Holloway has seen and beaten the best. But that fateful night in Abu Dhabi wasn’t meant to be Holloway’s second coming. So, what went wrong? Let’s see!
Joe Rogan and Ilia Topuria explain exactly why coming down to 145lbs proved fatal for Max Holloway
“Yeah, I mean, I understand it, I get it… But the thing is, he gained so much muscle to get to ’55 to fight Gaethje. And he did it over a long period of time where he really bulked up,” Rogan pointed out. Indeed, as we have mentioned, most (including probably Holloway himself) were not expecting ‘Blessed’ to return to 145lbs. This is probably why the BMF champion put on as much muscle mass and weight as he did for UFC 300.
Weight cutting is already a pretty painful and punishing process. But to cut weight for a lower weight class when you have moved on to a higher one is even more hellish and takes a toll on your body. The human body is around 60% water. This is why the easiest way to cut weight rapidly is for fighters to dehydrate themselves severely. As you can imagine, feeling like your body is dying of thirst is not a pleasant experience.
Moreover, it affects your organs, including your brain, which is why fighters are much more likely to get knocked out when they have cut huge amounts of weight. Moreover, Holloway has had a history of terrible cuts in the past. Remember, he was forced out of his UFC 223 lightweight title bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov due to the same reason.
All of this, according to Rogan and Topuria, is what seems to have happened to Holloway and part of the reason he was knocked out by ‘La Leyenda’, who went by ‘El Matador’ at the time. What do you think about Joe Rogan and Ilia Topuria’s take on Max Holloway’s decision to come back down to 145?
The post Joe Rogan & Ilia Topuria Agree on Max Holloway’s Biggest Blunder Despite Brutally Finishing Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 appeared first on EssentiallySports.