Fighter of the Year

20 Thursday, December 28, 2017 SPORTS Max FighterUFC of the Year: Holloway ax Holloway’s year consisted of After beating Anthony Pettis by third- just two fights, both of which came round TKO at UFC 206 in December 2016 againstM the same opponent. However, it’s to capture the interim UFC Featherweight who that opponent was and how the UFC title, Holloway’s 2017 campaign didn’t get Featherweight champion handled himself started until the midway point of the year. in those contests which makes him our He waited on a date for a title unification “Fighter of the Year” for 2017. bout with Aldo, and after months of Going into the year, there was little pestering the Brazilian with a clever “Where argument to Jose Aldo’s status as the is Jose Waldo?” campaign, he finally got his greatest and most decorated 145-pound chance to become undisputed champion. fighter in MMA history. Holloway (19-3 It was no easy scenario, though. Aldo, MMA, 15-3 UFC) dismantled Aldo (26-4 who had only ever lost to UFC Lightweight MMA, 9-3 UFC) not once, but twice, champ Conor McGregor in a nearly 12-year within a span of six months. Now there’s a stretch leading into the bout, got to fight on legitimate debate over who is the best to do home soil in Rio de Janeiro when he put the it in the weight class. belt on the line in the main event of UFC Holloway is a humble Hawaiian who also 212 on June 3. has the scrappy characteristics of someone Rather than being intimidated by the born and bred in Waianae. He joined the hostile territory, Holloway relished the UFC roster in February 2012 as a 21-year- situation. He viewed the opportunity to old unknown. Now 26, Holloway is on a dethrone Aldo in front of his own people as remarkable 12-fight UFC winning streak an alpha move which would make victory and doing things inside the octagon which all the more meaningful. He followed set him apart from his peers. “The Blessed through with a scintillating title-winning Era,” as he calls it, has truly arrived. performance. “It’s surreal,” Holloway tells Rolling The early stages of UFC 212 headliner Stone of his award. “When I found out I were highly competitive, but there was was like, ‘Holy shit. This is cool as shit.’ I’m never a moment Holloway appeared in not going to lie. There’s a bunch of fighters danger. Aldo came out strong and was who could have been up for ‘Fighter of the attacking his challenger at a successful rate. Year’ – Robert Whittaker, Rose Namajunas, Holloway, however, never showed signs of Demetrious Johnson. To be chosen, it’s in being flustered, and displayed stellar poise my nickname: I’m ‘Blessed.’ as he calculated his fight-ending moment. “It’s been a crazy year,” he continues. “I Aldo has historically displayed signs got to fight the greatest of all-time in my of slowing down in fights as the rounds weight division not once, but twice. I was progress. Holloway, meanwhile, has a watching this guy when I was 16 years old deep gas tank which allow him to push when I first started kickboxing. I wanted to the pace and deliver one of the highest fight Aldo in a kickboxing match. A couple striking output rates in UFC history. years later I came to MMA and wanted to Holloway gained in confidence as the fight him. 10 years later, I got to fight the action wore on, and by the midway point man twice. It’s a lot of life goals I got to do. of the third round, he was in complete It’s hard to put in words.” control. (rollingstone) Max Holloway in action.

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