“Even to Today, I Fight Myself”: Days After Israel Adesanya’s Documentary Premiere, Max Holloway Confesses on Personal Struggles in Tell-All Interview

UFC featherweight star Max Holloway had high praise for Israel Adesanya’s documentary. The 1 hour 42 minutes long documentary titled ‘Stylebender’ shows a side of Adesanya that has usually been out of the spotlight. ‘Blessed’ believes this documentary will go a long way in helping people. The former UFC champion said it opened his eyes with respect to his mental health struggles and hopes it will do the same for others.

Holloway recently made an appearance on ‘The MMA Hour’ opposite Ariel Helwani. The 31-year-old discussed several subjects, including his mental health and his career plans going forward. He also mentioned he was at the premiere of the documentary just like Helwani.

Both of them shared how impressed they were with the story. Holloway further added, “I got to talk to Izzy a little bit after too. Just how open he was, without giving too much away, to get to see a different view of us fighters that we go through.” Holloway also mentioned how the personalities of Adesanya and his coach, Eugene Bareman, were far from what people perceived them to be.

Max Holloway discusses how ‘Stylebender’ helped his mental health

Max Holloway shared personal details of his own mental health battles. ‘Blessed’ admitted his surprise at learning how Israel Adesanya talked to people about it. He said, “Even to today, I fight myself. ‘You don’t need to talk to nobody.’ But then watching that, after seeing Izzy doing it, I’m like, maybe I should.”

He continued, “Then talking to Izzy a little bit and finding out how many different people he talked to, I’m like, ‘Wow! This guy actually talked to people. I thought I was the only one fighting this, but he’s actually doing it.'”

As professional fighters, Adesanya and Holloway have to have an admirable level of mental fortitude to find success in their careers. However, finding how Adesanya had a vulnerable side, helped Holloway as well.

Read More– Following ‘Stylebender’ Documentary Premiere, Israel Adesanya Promises Showcase of “Vulnerable” Side as Fans Join Celebration Over UFC Champ’s Story

Holloway said, “That is a relief. Like I said, how the doc is going to open eyes to other people, it opened eyes to me. He did a lot of stuff. I even talked him after the doc.” He continued, “I told him some of the personal stuff he was dealing with. I was like, ‘Brother, I was right there.’ He was tripping out so I was like, ‘Bro, crazy, [we’re] more alike than anything.'”

Back in 2022, Holloway had spoken about mental health and urged people to seek help when needed.

Adesanya and Holloway are two of the best fighters in the world at the moment. Despite fighting Adesanya’s teammate Alexander Volkanovski three times, there seems to be a healthy respect between the two of them.

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What do you think of the respect between the two? And what do you make of Holloway’s message? Let us know in the comments below.