The flag that the fighters wear during their walkout is not just an apparel of fashion, but a symbol that shows that the land is proud of the said fighters, and vice-versa. After all, there are times when mixed martial artists put national pride on the line as they step inside the Octagon for their fight. However, the story takes a different turn when it comes to Max Holloway.

Well, if you don’t know already, he doesn’t carry the US flag on his back, even though he is a proud American. So, which flag does the BMF champion carry, if not the nation’s flag?

All about Max Holloway’s flag during UFC walkouts

Max Holloway is probably the only fighter who does not carry a national flag during walkouts. Instead, he wears the flag of Hawaii. Needless to say, ‘Blessed’ hails from the Hawaiian lands and is pretty proud of his Samoan and Maui ancestry. Donning the Union Jack and the colors red, white, and blue shining through, the former featherweight champion warns his opponents of his skills and Samoan bloodline.

Born in Honolulu and brought up in Waianae, Holloway didn’t really have it easy growing up. Despite his parents being dr*g users, ‘Blessed’ found a way to redeem himself and began his kickboxing training when he turned 15. He won his first-ever amateur bout after just 3 days of training. With the kind of laurels that he has amassed in the MMA realm, the people of Hawaii nicknamed him ‘The Pride of Hawaii.’ But the world of mixed martial arts has often wondered how Holloway got the approval to wear a state flag.

During a conversation with Joe Rogan on the JRE podcast back in 2019, Holloway talked about the difficulties he had to face while trying to walk out with a state flag. ‘Blessed’ revealed that one of his brand sponsors, Reebok, tried to stop him from walking down the road to the Octagon with a state flag on his back. He recollected, “They wasn’t going to let me walk out with the Hawaiian flag. When I first started doing it. Cause that’s when the Reebok came out. I couldn’t put Hawaiian flag on my shorts or anything. So I was like, ‘I’m going to walk out with the flag.’ Reebok was stopping it. They were like, ‘you can’t because it’s a state flag.'”

But it was Dana White who brought peace for the BMF champion. No doubt, the UFC head honcho wanted to give his fighters the liberty to walk out with any music, or any flag that the fighters wanted. And he wasn’t going to upset one of his strongest prospects. Holloway continued, “I was like, ‘nah, we’re going to talk to Dana…’ Dana texted me and said, ‘That’s stupid as s–t kid, just walk with it.'”

Needless to say, the UFC did make an exception for Holloway. But there’s more to the story. There was a time when the UFC had no choice but to make an exemption for the BMF champ. Let’s find out what it was all about!

When UFC made a special exemption for Max Holloway’s flag

UFC Fight Night 225, Singapore witnessed yet another side of the story when Holloway faced ‘The Korean Zombie.’ The 32-year-old fighter had a heavy heart while donning the Hawaiian flag. It was a time when the Hawaiians faced the deadliest wildfire in the country, which claimed about 102 lives. The Maui and Hawaiians were quick to take the stand. And Holloway was pretty proud of it. Despite getting let down by the state, the Hawaiian community took charge of recovering from the disaster.

No wonder, the situation made tears well up in Holloway’s eyes when he talked about the disaster in his homeland, during the pre-fight press conference in Singapore. But wearing the Hawaiian flag wasn’t the only thing he did to support his statespeople. He even wore a couple of floral shorts to the fight against ‘The Korean Zombie.’ Even the UFC stepped forward with a ‘UFC Loves Hawaii’ T-shirt in an attempt to raise awareness.

Now, the BMF champion is set to land against Ilia Topuria at UFC 308. With the featherweight championship belt on the line, Holloway will definitely try his best to make his people proud. But will the state flag be enough to get him the strength needed to defeat ‘El Matador?’ Let us know what you think in the comments down below.