Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight champion Max “Blessed” Holloway went all the way at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, United States on December 2, 2017. Hailing from Waianae, Hawaii, USA, he defeated Jose “Scarface” Aldo from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.
Aldo failed to get a redemptive win after losing to Holloway at “UFC 212” via technical knockout via punches at 4:13 of Round 3. With John McCarthy as the referee, the first match between the two took place on June 3, 2017 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
The rematch between Holloway and Aldo, which was the “UFC 218” main event, also ended via a technical knockout via punches. Referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 4:51 of Round 3 making Holloway still the reigning UFC Featherweight Champion.
Holloway has been winning consistently since 2014. Before defeating Aldo twice, the reigning UFC Featherweight Champion triumphed over Will Chope, Andre Fili, Clay Collard, Akira Corassani, Cole Miller, Cub Swanson, Charles Oliveira, Jeremy Stephens, Ricardo Lamas and Anthony Pettis.
While holding Rush Holloway, 5, Max told UFC announcer Joe Rogan during the ‘UFC 212″ post-fight interview that he knew Aldo was tired already. According to the Hawaiian mixed martial artist, he listened to his trainer’s advice.
“My trainer said, ‘Let’s take him into deep waters. I know he can’t swim there and we are going to drown him,'” Max said. “That’s exactly what I did.”
But nothing has changed when it comes to Max’s respect for Aldo. The reigning UFC Featherweight champion said, “At the end of the day, it is what it is. All due respect, Aldo is a hell of a champion but I told you that the Blessed Era is something new.”
Currently holding a professional MMA record of 19 wins and 3 losses, Max admitted that he was watching Ukrainian boxer Vasyl Lomachenko a lot. The fighter from Hawaii said he passed the test after “trying to Lomachenko a lot” and Aldo was not moving.
Both Max and Aldo lost once to Conor McGregor, who is now the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion. McGregor knocked out Aldo at “UFC 194” on December 12, 2015 and defeated Holloway via unanimous decision at “UFC Fight Night 26” on August 17, 2013.
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