Max Holloway: I’ve Got My Throne, Conor McGregor Can Beg To Fight Me Now
Max Holloway picked up his 11th win in a row on Saturday night over Jose Aldo at UFC 212 to become the undisputed UFC featherweight champion, and while doing so, he had to know that one man was watching the fight due to his history with Aldo. That man is former featherweight champion, Conor McGregor.
This marked the second time that Aldo has lost under the UFC banner. Of course, his first loss came from McGregor, who did so with a 13-second knockout back at UFC 194. After that bout, McGregor moved up to lightweight and defeated Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 to win the title. However, since the Aldo fight, McGregor never defended the featherweight title and had to vacate it. At the UFC 212 post-fight press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Holloway was asked about the one who walked away.
“If he wants to come back down, he can come and get it,” Holloway said (transcript courtesy of MMA Fighting). “But if not, it is what it is, you know? That guy was the 2015 champ,” Holloway said. “He can go running around wherever he’s at with the belt and celebrate, but guess what? You can’t take that away from him here. This is called the year 2017 right now, he’s the 2015 champ, and I’m the champ.”
Holloway stated that he would rather take some cues from UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson, who has held on to the UFC flyweight title since 2012. Johnson is about to make history as if he wins his next bout then it will mark his 11th consecutive title defense, which would set a new UFC mark that is currently set by Anderson Silva.
“Demetrious Johnson, he finds his motivation of keep defending, keep defending,” Holloway said. “It takes a special human being to do that. And that’s me. I want to defend my throne. All my fans know, they love me, I want to defend this, I want to be a champ and keep defending. Come try to take over my village.”
It appears that McGregor will not be returning to the featherweight division anytime soon. For two reasons in fact. The first reason is that he is currently in negotiations for a potential boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. The second reason is that McGregor had a hard time making featherweight.
Holloway and McGregor have fought before. McGregor scored a decision over Holloway in Boston in 2013. Since that bout, Holloway has yet to lose again. Holloway understands McGregor has options, so he’s not going to go barking up that tree.
“This guy’s over here always trying to look for the bigger thing, and that’s him,” Holloway said. “Good for him. I ain’t going to chase someone around. I ain’t going to talk about someone that ain’t talking about me. He gets to choose his fights. Why am I going to cry and beg him to fight me? Get the hell out of here with that sh*t. He can beg to fight me now. I’m coming to that point now where people’s going to start asking me to fight. I ain’t asking no one to fight. I’ve got my throne. If you want it, come see me.”
