Max Holloway Makes Huge Claim About Conor McGregor Ahead of His UFC Return

Conor McGregor announced his return on January 18th next year. Arguably the biggest attraction in MMA, Conor McGregor has been inactive for over a year ever since he fought Nurmagomedov for the lightweight title last year. A few weeks earlier UFC featherweight champion, Max Holloway even showed a lack of interest to fight McGregor since he believed McGregor was not motivated enough to compete in the sport as he was when he became the first UFC two-division champion.

“After listening to him now, I don’t see that same focus. If you are going after everything, you aren’t focused on anything. He called out like 20 guys in that interview. Am I interested in a payday fight to fight him? Sure, Ariel, but I am not interested in competing against him if he’s not his best,” said Holloway in an interview on ESPN.

Max Holloway also added that he would rather fight the McGregor who conquered two-division back in 2016, who dethroned the long-reigning champion, Jose Aldo and moved up to lightweight to add another UFC glory to his record.

“He doesn’t seem healthy and he didn’t sound right. If he comes back and says, ‘Hey, I beat Max when he was a kid, but I want to beat him in his prime to prove I am the best ever.’ Then yeah, I want that champ. I want the 2015-2016 champ mentality and focused,”.

However, it seems Max Holloway has changed his opinion on Conor McGregor after the return announcement made by the Irish fighter. Holloway saw the glimpse of the focused McGregor in the recent interviews in Russia. Holloway claims:

“For sure. Last time I came In my interview, and he did an interview a couple of weeks later. You kind of see the spark. We see it happens. He definitely sounds different in that interview than the interview with Ariel. I can’t wait. I hope nothing but good stuff for the guy. I am competitive, he is competitive, I can’t wait.”

Neither UFC nor McGregor’s team has revealed who the opponent for McGregor’s return fight is. However, there is a strong possibility that it might be Justin Gaethje or Donald Cerrone. On the other hand, Max Holloway defends his featherweight title against Alexander Volkanovski in UFC 245. A rematch between Holloway and McGregor does not make sense at the moment. However, if Holloway ever moves up to lightweight then a fight between him and McGregor will certainly interest the fans.