Max Holloway takes swipe at UFC ‘elevator divas’ who wait to get to the top rather than take the hard road… with ‘Blessed’ gearing up for risky Yair Rodriguez showdown
- Max Holloway is clearly the No 1 contender in the UFC’s featherweight division
- Alexander Volkanovski recently defended his title but will not fight until 2022
- Rather than waiting for another shot, Holloway is taking on Yair Rodriguez
- He explained a dislike for fighters who simply bide their time for opportunities
Max Holloway has taken aim at ‘elevator divas’ in the UFC who simply wait to get to the top rather than take the hard road.
The Hawaiian is clearly the No 1 featherweight contender in his division but rather than bide his time for another title shot in 2022, he has opted to take a dangerous fight against Yair Rodriguez this weekend.
Alexander Volkanovski remains top of the heap at 145-pounds but having recently beaten Brian Ortega, is likely to be out of action until early next year.
Max Holloway insists he will not bide his time and wait for another featherweight title shot
Alexander Volkanovski (left) beat Holloway (right) twice, once to win the title and in defence
Holloway said it would go against everything he stands for to simply wait it out for a third shot against the Australian, who has beaten him twice.
‘I didn’t want to wait until the new year,’ he said on The MMA Hour. ‘I wanted to keep on fighting. Everywhere, everyone, every time. Let’s get it.
‘They told us we didn’t have to [take the fight]. They told us we could wait it out, but I was like, ‘I ain’t about that. We ain’t about that.’ I talked to my team, I let my team know and they were all on board. And we’re here today.’
He went on: ‘The UFC, they don’t have this tournament structure, so a lot of these guys, they’re just waiting at the elevator. You know? They’re waiting at the elevator to go to the top.
‘And I’m not an elevator waiter. There’s no line at the stairs, so that’s where you can find me — at the stairs. This is not new for us. This is not new for us at all. For me and my team, it’s very important to not be elevator divas. I want to just get out there and keep doing the damn thing.
Holloway (left) is back in the title picture after his spectacular win over Calvin Kattar (right)
‘Everybody else can figure out [who I’m talking about],’ Holloway added. ‘You guys can choose who the elevator divas are in this sport, but you know your boy will be at the stairs and we’ll be running up and down those bad boys.’
Volkanovski is far from the only option for Holloway if he defeats Rodriguez and ‘Blessed’ is fully aware of his options.
He went on: ‘We’re always on the shortlist for Conor [McGregor]. The last time, before we got injured [in June], we were one of the replacement fighters [to fight McGregor].
Yair Rodriguez will take on Holloway in what looks to be a great match-up
‘And then, I’m the best boxer in the UFC, so use your imagination, my friends. It’s a wild world today.
‘Anybody at ‘45 or ‘55 after those guys, my name pops up,” Holloway said. “You can go call [UFC executive] Hunter [Campbell] right now, go ask him who can sell, who’s going to sell numbers with Conor, and they’re going to drop my name all the time.
‘So, at the end of the day, I’m always on the shortlist for Conor, so we’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens. First things first. I’ve got to fight November 13th and we’ll go from there.’