Max Holloway: I always go in there with Hawaii on my back, but it feels a little bit heavier now
Max Holloway 2023
UFC star Max Holloway will honour the victims of the Hawaiian wildfires when he fights "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung this weekend.
Wildfires devastated the Lahaina region on the island of Maui this month, killing at least 115 and leaving thousands homeless. As such, Holloway, the proudest Hawaiian on the UFC roster, will be fighting for more than just himself in Singapore on Saturday.
"Those guys are the real heroes right now," Holloway told
mmafighting.com of the survivors.
"They're going through it, and my walkout song is going to be a dedication to them, and they said we should use red to solidify those guys that are in the fire and going through it.
"I'm actually going to be using red for the first time in my UFC career. I've been using the black universal and I was able to be granted red for the shorts. A lot of things. I always go in there with Hawaii on my back, but it feels a little bit heavier now."
Holloway has used his status for charitable work, most notably for raining money for the Hawaii and Maui Foodbanks in the wake of the pandemic.
Standing across the octagon on Saturday in Singapore is durable veteran Jung. Last time out, the Korean Zombie was put on his back multiple times by UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Soon after, he took off over a year due to injury, but Holloway isn't expecting any ring rust.
"I think it's one year and four months Korean Zombie [has been] out, so I'm expecting the best Korean Zombie there is," he continued.
"He had one year and four months to get healed, to get healthy, to get better as an athlete, to get better as a person, period, and he got to get all his affairs in order. We'll see. I think a dangerous Korean Zombie is going to show up Saturday night and I'm looking forward to it."
As for Jung, at 36-years-old, he is in the twilight of his highlight-reel career and pundits suspect this could be his last ride. Either way, Jung is relishing stepping into the octagon with Holloway.
"I've wanted to fight Holloway forever," he said via
mmajunkie.com.
"Whenever I imagine me fighting Holloway, I also expect a slugfest to happen. Both fighters are going to be worn out to the very bottom, so it's going to be a very fun fight."
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