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7DETROIT, MI – DECEMBER 02: Max Holloway prior to his fight with Jose Aldo of Brazil during UFC 218 at Little Caesars Arena on December 2, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

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7DETROIT, MI – DECEMBER 02: Max Holloway prior to his fight with Jose Aldo of Brazil during UFC 218 at Little Caesars Arena on December 2, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Israel Adesanya’s win over Alex Pereira inspired many people, including Max Holloway. The former featherweight champion opened up during a recent interview about how ‘The Last Stylebender’s UFC 287 exploits inspired him on conquering his own Goliath. Max Holloway returns to action this Saturday at UFC Kansas City against the dynamic featherweight contender Arnold Allen. The #2 and #4 ranked featherweights will clash in the main event of the evening in a highly anticipated match-up that could potentially have title fight implications.
At 31 years of age, Holloway has one of the most revered resumes in UFC history. During his historic 12-fight win streak, ‘Blessed’ almost cleaned out the division beating legends like Jose Aldo. He also won the featherweight title and defended it multiple times until he ran into Alexander Volkanovski.

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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – JUNE 03: Max Holloway celebrates after his TKO victory over Jose Aldo of Brazil in their UFC featherweight championship bout during the UFC 212 event at Jeunesse Arena on June 3, 2017 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Holloway and Volkanovski faced each other three times, and the Australian bested Holloway on all three occasions. In their latest meeting at UFC 276 last year, Volkanovksi dominated Holloway to win 50-45 on all judges’ scorecards. Despite being 3-0 down to the current champion, Holloway has no shortage of confidence and takes inspiration from Adesanya’s win over Alex Pereira.
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Max Holloway on how Israel Adesanya inspired him
All during the fight week, Max Holloway had to answer several questions about his motivation to keep fighting. With him having lost three UFC title fights against Volkanovski, many are asking about retirement plans as well. Holloway has dominated most of his opponents, but the 5 ft 6 in Volknovski seems to be an insurmountable challenge for the Hawaiian.
It was a similar case for Israel Adesanya against ‘Poatan’ until UFC 287. The Brazilian was 3-0 up against ‘Stylebender’ with two of them being finishes. However, Adesanya finally conquered his demon and put him to sleep.

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April 8, 2023, Miami, FL, Miami, Florida, United States: MIAMI, FLORIDA – APRIL 8: L-R Alex Pereira punches Israel Adesanya in their middleweight fight during the UFC 287 event at Kaseya Center on April 8, 2023 in Miami, FL, United States. Miami, FL United States – ZUMAp175 20230408_zsa_p175_193 Copyright: xAlejandroxSalazarx
Speaking of the fight, Holloway said, “Oh man, that was inspiring, man. Inspiring to say the least man. And the way that Izzy did it, you know what I mean? I mean it’s crazy you know.”
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He continued, “And like I said, you’re only as good as your last fight, you know? The first three fights, no one even remembers that. Everyone’s talking about that because that’s the media’s story. No one even cares. They’re like, ‘Look at this last one.’ So, it’s inspiring stuff.”
Holloway might have to rack up a few more wins before he can ask for another shot at Volkanovski. However, he has no qualms about doing it the hard way. The ‘Blessed’ train is going full steam ahead and this weekend it plans to go through Arnold Allen.
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Watch This Story– Who will Israel Adesanya fight after UFC 287?
What are your predictions for the fight? Let us know in the comments.
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