Max Holloway Shows True Colors in Latest Comments on Paddy Pimblett

Max Holloway’s latest comments about Paddy Pimblett shows what he really thinks of the UFC’s latest lightning-bolt.

Unbeaten in the UFC, Pimblett joined MMA’s big leagues in 2021 after winning a championship in the European fight firm Cage Warriors. Though Pimblett has six wins in the UFC to date, it’s his last three victories in particular that have catapulted him up the lightweight rankings. A decision win over Tony Ferguson, triangle choke submission win over King Green, and thumping knockout over Michael Chandler have elevated Pimblett’s status so much at 155, that insiders expect a title challenge in his near future.

But Pimblett getting a crack at the lightweight championship when there are nine other fighters ranked higher than him in the division, may risk further rankling those competitors. Now, Holloway has had his say on the issue.

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Max Holloway Shares Feelings on Paddy Pimblett

Holloway also gave his verdict on Pimblett as a fighter

“People forget we’re in the entertainment business,” Holloway told MMA Fighting, and that it’s not just about performing and winning, it’s luring people into your story and journey within that entertainment business.

“That’s what fighting is,” he said. “We’re entertainment, and whoever sells those seats, that’s what the UFC is going to do. We have [Dana White] talking about how Arman [Tsarukyan] is taking the right step to getting a title shot again, which is insane, and with Justin Gaethje saying about a title shot.

Detailing his take further on Pimblett as a fighter, someone who UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall recently told GIVE ME SPORT is massively “under-rated,” Holloway said that, in MMA, “anyone can win.”

He added: “Everybody can say we saw Paddy get cracked. I saw myself get cracked a bunch of times and when Ilia hit me, we saw what we saw. At the end of the day, it’s mixed martial arts. I think Paddy and his team will prepare right for that fight. I think they’ll have a game plan and he’s no slouch.”

“A lot of people thought Paddy was this guy who just talks and runs his mouth and then he got to prove himself against a guy like [Michael] Chandler,” Holloway said. “He’s not a wrestler but he out-wrestled the wrestler, which was pretty crazy to see.”

“This is mixed martial arts,” he finished. “It’s what’s going on that day and whoever can apply their game plan that they’ve been doing, you never know.”

Holloway was talking ahead of his third and final fight against Dustin Poirier for the BMF championship. The Hawaiian fighter hopes to shorten a 2-0 deficit when the rivals collide in the UFC 318 main event which takes place Saturday, the 19th of July, in Poirier’s home town, New Orleans in Louisiana.