Much like every other fight fan in the state, I was shocked at the news of Max Holloway being pulled out of his title fight at UFC 226 this weekend.
It was reported earlier this week Holloway was pulled from his fight with unbeaten challenger Brian Ortega because his team noticed concussion-like symptoms in the days leading up to the fight.
Soon after that initial notification, I received another leading to a video of an interview he did with UFC on Fox.
While I wouldn’t assume anything, something was definitely noticeable with Holloway — namely his slurred speech and droopy eyes.
During the interview, commentator and former UFC contender Michael Bisping took notice as well.
“Max, you say you feel great. And don’t be offended when I say this, but you look like you just got out of bed. Are you tired? What’s going on? How’s the weight cut? Are you drained? You look a little sleepy. … You just look like you’re ready to fall asleep on me there,” Bisping said to Holloway.
After being called out on his strange behavior, Holloway laughed it off saying he’s just a bit drained because of the media tour.
It was also reported Holloway urged his team to continue with the fight and that he did show improvement after seeing a doctor, but after an open workout he “crashed” and it was difficult to wake him up. And when he did wake up, he saw flashes and had slurred speech.
UFC president Dana White tried to schedule a last-minute opponent for Ortega for an interim title fight, but Ortega turned that down and instead opted to reschedule a fight with Holloway and the fight was scratched off the card entirely.
Bottom line, it was the right call to pull Holloway out. Concussion symptoms, no matter how light the fighter or his people might think they are, should never be taken lightly.
With all the concussion and CTE stories out there, no one should even debate this decision.
As big of a bummer this is, to not see the Waianae native defend his title this weekend, it is not worth throwing him in the octagon if he’s not healthy, especially if it’s a brain injury.
But it does beg the question, what is up with Holloway lately? Has the hurt business already caught up to the 26-year-old?
Since defeating José Aldo via TKO in his first title defense at UFC 218 last December, he’s then had to pull out of his last three scheduled fights.
He withdrew from a scheduled title defense at UFC 222 in March against Frankie Edgar because of a leg injury. Then in April, albeit he took the fight on short notice, he was pulled out of challenging Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title at UFC 223 because doctors deemed it too dangerous of a weight cut.
For the one people call “Blessed,” 2018 has not been a good year so far.
I wish Holloway a speedy recovery, and I hope this is not the beginning of the end of his fight career. It’s unfortunate his career has taken a nose dive after ascending to new heights just last year.
Sometimes, it should be respected when a fighter takes on an “it is what it is” mentality and is willing to fight at any place at any time, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of his or her long-term health.
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Nick Celario can be reached at ncelario@thegardenisland.com.
One thing for certain, Max Holloway is one tough cookie and loves to scrap. One of the best intelligent fighter with advanced techniques that will take him far in this sport. Unfortunately that may be cut short if his brain injury gets worst that may kill him at an early age.