Max Holloway’s Nickname ‘Blessed’: What Is the Meaning Behind the UFC Star’s Moniker?

UFC’s resident BMF champion Max Holloway will get a chance to add a second featherweight title win to his resume at UFC 308 when he butts heads against Ilia Topuria. The rivalry has already had a heated start with each fighter taking shots at the other and fans are eagerly anticipating them putting on a show to remember in the main event in Abu Dhabi.

Holloway has been on the fight scene for almost 14 years now, making his professional debut back in 2010. As we inch closer to his title fight on October 26. We will take a look at the story behind his fan-favorite moniker ‘Blessed.’

How did Max Holloway get his nickname ‘Blessed’?

Max Holloway’s nickname, ‘Blessed’ is one of the most well-known monikers in MMA. The Hawaiian even has his own line of merchandise on sale, with his moniker being the main attraction. In an even bolder move, he now has merchandise with his current moniker ‘BMF’ printed on it.

Given all that the UFC featherweight has accomplished throughout his career, the fight moniker seems appropriately suited for the former UFC featherweight and current BMF champion. As for the origins of the ‘Blessed’ moniker, Holloway wouldn’t shy away from telling the fans how he received his nickname.

Max Holloway once told the promotion how he got his fight moniker, stating that it got associated with him naturally. He stated, “It just came because of the things I was able to accomplish in the time I did, so my coach at the time simply said, ‘You’re blessed, man.’ The nickname just stuck.”

However, the time that Max Holloway truly earned his fight moniker was his win over the “King of Rio” and former UFC featherweight champion, Jose Aldo. However, ‘Blessed’ also seems to have a different nickname that seems to haunt him.

When Holloway almost got another nickname

Max Holloway has some of the best striking skills in the division. He holds the record for the most significant strikes landed by a fighter in the UFC with 3,197, landing 445 in his fight against Calvin Kattar. Unfortunately, this staple performance backfired and landed him with a nickname far different than ‘Blessed.’

Leading up to the fight against ‘The Korean Zombie,’ Holloway started getting referred to as ‘Pillow Holloway.’ This was probably due to the 32-year-old not having one-punch KO’s in his resume. Max took that one personally and delivered a walk-off KO against Chan Sung Jung early into the 3rd round at UFC Singapore last year.

While he may not have many knockouts to his name, Hollway has several impressive finishes via striking. Being a volume striker, most of these wins came via TKO, and some even doctor stoppages. Nevertheless, do you think Max Holloway has what it takes to get a win over the undefeated Ilia Topuria at UFC 308? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.