Max Holloway believes he’ll be sharing the Octagon with a worthy challenger at UFC 245.

Holloway is set to defend the UFC featherweight championship against Alex Volkanovski in the co-main event of UFC 245. The action will take place this Saturday night (Dec. 14) inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’ll be Holloway’s fourth title defense and Volkanovski’s first UFC title opportunity.

During the UFC 245 Athlete Panel, Holloway spoke to reporters ahead of this weekend’s action. “Blessed” said he isn’t haunted by his misfortune during his last trip to Las Vegas, which resulted in having to pull out of a bout with Brian Ortega due to supposed water poisoning.


“Nothing at all man. This is the ninth island. I got a bunch of Hawaiians here. I got a bunch of Hawaiians flying in. Bunch of Hawaiians live here, so I just can’t wait for Saturday man. I can’t wait for these weigh-ins, get these weigh-ins over and then I get to see Alex across the Octagon from me.”

Holloway went on to say that Volkanovski earned his title shot and has proven to be a worthy foe.

“Yeah for sure. He’s the number one contender. He went to Rio, fought the king of Rio, got a decision in Rio. This is MMA man, you guys all know. You guys all work in the MMA business, there’s a new face every two weeks. So whatever face, whatever cupcake, whatever mysterious flavor pops up let me know. I want the first crack at it.”