UFC 251: ‘I don’t need sparring,’ says Holloway

MANILA, Philippines – Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway (21-5) surprisingly took social distancing to a higher level as he attempts to regain his featherweight title in a rematch against Alexander ‘The Great’ Volkanovski (21-1) in UFC 251 on Sunday, July 12 at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

Holloway claims he did not have any training partner and did not spar in his training camp. Instead, the veteran fighter opted to do all his workouts and training via Zoom.

While many, including Volkanovski, expressed doubt about the no-contact training story, Holloway insisted he really did everything online.

“I seriously did the Zoom stuff,” Holloway said during the UFC virtual media day. “I was a big advocate of staying at home, being smart and making all the right decisions especially that the lockdown in Hawaii is super serious when this pandemic happened. It was serious man, I’m serious.”

Holloway, considered one of the greatest fighters of all time in the featherweight division, had beaten several big names such as Jose Aldo and Anthony Pettis.

Heading into the match, the Hawaiian challenger said he’ll just bank on experience.

“I had 4 title fights in a matter of 12 months,” he said. “I got a bunch of experience, I don’t need sparring. I’ve been sparring since I was 16 years old, I’m 28 now.

“It’s like a hard reset for me and I feel great.”

No fear

Holloway lost his featherweight title to Volkanovski via unanimous decision last December. This time, he’s determined to settle the match without leaning toward the scorecard.

“A wise man once said, don’t leave it to the judges, they’ll make you cry,” Holloway said. “That’s my mindset. If it’s a decision, it’s a decision game. But I’m looking for a finish. It’s been a while since I finished someone so that’ll be a good fight.”

And despite coming from a tough loss, Holloway is not feeling any pressure coming to the weekend fight night.

“It is what it is,” he said. “At the end of the day, I got 5 titles in my closet, chilling there and probably collecting dust. [Volkanovski] can beat me two more times but he’ll still not have the same amount of titles that I have. It’s just another fight for me.”

Even without proper contact training, Holloway said he’s ready to face the reigning champ without fear and promised to put up a show on Sunday.

“Only thing I fear is God. At the end of the day, this guy is just a human like me. I’m gonna go out there and fight, put on a show,” said Holloway.

“It’s gonna be something special. If you have family and friends, or people you know who’s not into MMA and you want them to become a fan, make them tune in this weekend.”

The main card of UFC 251, which will feature 3 title bouts, will start at 10 am (10 pm ET) while the preliminary card will start at 8 am (8 pm ET). – Rappler.com