Max Holloway is one of the greatest featherweights in UFC history. The Hawaiian is ranked #1 in the featherweight division with his only three losses out of his last 6 bouts coming at the hands of featherweight juggernaut and champion Alexander Volkanovski. The former champion took on Chan Sung Jung, also known as The Korean Zombie in the latter’s retirement fight.

But, recent events have given new significance to the fight. His home state of Hawaii’s island of Maui has been devastated by a massive wildfire that has seen the death toll rise to 55 and over a thousand people reported missing. Holloway has publicly discussed the wildfires in the pre-fight press conference. He was allowed by the UFC to don red shorts for the bout and also walked into the Octagon with the Hawaiian flag on his back for his bout against The Korean Zombie.

Max Holloway walks into the cage with a Hawaiian flag

Max Holloway faced The Korean Zombie in a featherweight bout that headlined UFC Fight Night 225 in Singapore today. The American walked into the ring with the white, red, and blue flag of Hawaii featuring the Union Jack.

Holloway had earlier talked about the struggles of the people in Hawaii after the natural disaster and had even broken down into tears at the pre-fight press conference for the event. The Hawaiian had spoken about walking in with the red flag at the event. The fight itself was a brief affair, with the former featherweight champion stopping the Korean with a powerful right in the third round.

Max Holloway cries during press conference while discussing Hawaii wildfires

Holloway spoke about the response to the disaster. He also praised the people of Hawaii for their courage and solidarity during the crisis. Even the UFC has come out with a ‘UFC Loves Hawaii’ t-shirt to raise awareness of the disaster.

“You guys saw how everything went down. How the Lahaina people were let down by the state, by the government,” he said. “But the Hawaii community, they stepped up. The people stepped up, the Hawaiians stepped up.”

He felt the locals were heroes and promised that his walkout would be an homage to the island state. He also declared that he would wear red shorts in his bout against The Korean Zombie.

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“It’s just tough, man. Those guys [in Hawaii] are the real heroes right now. They’re going through it, and my walkout song is going to be a dedication to them, and they said we should use red [fight shorts] to solidify those guys that are in the fire and going through it,” he said.

The devastation and destruction caused by the wildfires have led to an outpouring of sympathy and good wishes from around the world. And Holloway, who has friends and family affected by the wildfires, is well aware of the destruction and upheaval it has caused.

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