Max Holloway on Frankie Edgar: He Deserves The Title Shot
UFC featherweight contender and Saskatoon headliner Max Holloway will put his skills to the test once again this Sunday August 23., as he takes on dangerous submission grappler Charles Oliveira in a five round fight. ”Blessed’ has gone on a tear since his 2013 decision loss to Conor McGregor, racking up a six-fight spree and once again putting his name in to the potential title mix.
Talking of his striking, Holloway told MMAJunkie.com that he feels he has the best striking in the world, kickboxers included:
“I go around telling myself I’m the best striker in the world; not in the division, in the world, I could go to GLORY and fight any kickboxer. I don’t care. That’s what I want to do. I want to prove I’m the best striker and that’s just how I feel. It’s confidence.
“People might look at you and say, ‘You’re arrogant,’ and this and that. But no, I’m not. I’m just a confident man. Just ’cause you question yourself doesn’t mean I should question myself. If they want to prove it, bring on all comers. I’d love to prove I can strike with the best of them.”
When questioned about the reality of a straight kickboxing match, Holloway said he was actually interested. Chances are with the air-tight contracts that Zuffa dole out, this wouldn’t be a remote possibility.
“Of course I would love to do a straight kickboxing match,” Holloway said. “Everyone talks about my creativity in MMA. Imagine when I don’t have to worry about getting taken down for four minutes or five minutes? I would love to do a kickboxing match, but it’s down the line. I see my career with the UFC being a long one and it’s going to be a long partnership with them. One step at a time.”
The busy featherweight division in the UFC has a whole bunch of interesting fights coming up, none more so that UFC 189’s main event between Conor McGregor and champ Jose Aldo. The headliner at UFC Fight Night 74 could be massively influential in the title race, but ‘Blessed’ believes Frankie Edgar deserves the next shot:
“A lot of people are saying it’s a No. 1 contender fight; I beg to differ,” Holloway said. “I think Frankie (Edgar) deserves his shot. We’ll see what happens. It’s a make you or break you fight. You lose in the UFC, it’s a hard loss and you start from the bottom again. It’s a big fight for me and Oliveira and we’ll see who wants it more.”
“(My) perfect fight would be vintage Max Holloway: Go out there and use my striking game and get out of there unscathed, then look for another one,” he said. “I’d definitely want to fight again before the end of the year if I can. This is the only way I get my money, so I’d love that. We’ll see what happens.”
If nothing else, Holloway is both humble and greatly confident. We’ll see how he fares with the dangerous ‘Do Bronx’ tomorrow in Canada, and if he wins and is offered a title shot, do you think he’d take it remembering how he has just said that Edgar deserves the shot more?
