Max Holloway discusses UFC 245 opponent Alexander Volkanovski’s confidence ahead of their title fight this weekend.
Las Vegas, NV — The way featherweight champion Max Holloway (21-4) sees it, he’d rather fight a confident opponent. And he’s getting just that on Saturday at UFC 245 when he takes on Alexander Volkanovski.
The 145lb title fight is the co-main event of the Las Vegas card, the final PPV of the UFC’s 2019 campaign. Volkanovski’s confidence that he can end the ‘Blessed Era’ has been a frequent talking point in the build-up to the fight. Which is no problem for the seemingly always laid back Holloway.
“I’m happy. I’m happy he’s confident,” the Hawaiian told media outlets including Cageside Press Thursday at the UFC 245 media day. “I don’t want to fight a non-confident guy and then after the fight you hear ‘I should have did this, did that, blah blah blah.’ No, I love the confidence, I love this energy, I love what he’s doing, I love what he’s saying. We get to find out December 14 who lives up to the confidence.”
Some have suggested Volkanovski is a suitable replacement for the fight with Chad Mendes that never was. Holloway, for his part, doesn’t like making such comparisons however. “I don’t know, not really. At the end of the day I’m not going to compare these guys to other fighters,” he said. He knows what the feels like, after all. “I hate when people compare me to other fighters. Like ‘oh I fought him and they’re the same.’ No we’re not. I’m different in every manner, the way I think, the way I move, the way I do certain stuff, we’re all different.”
Mobbed with reporters in Vegas on Thursday, ‘Blessed’ was asked about his given name: Jerome.
“Anybody, anywhere, any time, anybody can call me Jerome,” he said when asked about people using the name. “Funny story, the only reason why I’m not called Jerome, Jerome Max, some of my friends call me Jerome — my name was supposed to be Jerome. My grandpa heard my mom [was going to name him that]. My grandpa told them, ‘I’m going to disown this kid as my grandchild if you name him my name.’ Because his name is Jerome. He’s like ‘I hate this name. So why are you gonna give this kid the name?'”
So Holloway was given Max after his dad’s best friend. “I got two first names, Jerome-Max. You guys can call me Jerome if you like, that’s cool.”
Max Holloway (we’ll stick with that) returns to the octagon against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 245 this Saturday, December 14 at the T-Mobila Arena in Las Vegas, NV.
