UFC’s resident BMF champion Max Holloway will be defending his title for the first time this weekend since beating Justin Gaethje to win it at UFC 300. He will be the last opponent of lightweight legend Dustin Poirier, who, in turn, welcomed him into the Las Vegas-based promotion. ‘The Diamond’ could very well walk away with the BMF title, but Holloway will definitely aim to get over Poirier, who’s beaten him twice in the past.

Max Holloway has been in Dana White‘s promotion for over a dozen years now, making his professional debut back in 2012. And throughout his journey, the former featherweight and current BMF champion has donned the moniker of ‘Blessed’. But what is the significance and meaning behind it? Let’s dive into that ahead of his title defense at UFC 318.

Why is Max Holloway called ‘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 Holloway, who’s one of the best 145ers ever, 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’s history with 3,457. And guess what? ‘Blessed’ landed 445 of those in just a single fight against Calvin Kattar. Unfortunately, this staple performance backfired and landed him with a nickname other than the one we usually call him, ‘Blessed.’

Leading up to the fight against ‘The Korean Zombie,’ Holloway started getting referred to as ‘Pillow Holloway.’ This was probably due to the 33-year-old not having one-punch KOs on his resume. The former featherweight champion took that one personally and delivered a walk-off KO against Chan Sung Jung early into the third round at UFC Singapore in 2023.

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, it’s Fight Night soon, so what do you think about Max Holloway taking on Dustin Poirier one last time? Will the champion come out on top, or will the challenger ride off into the sunset with the BMF belt? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.