At a glance
WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Max Holloway Breaks Down Title Loss, Judging, Greatness And Grit
- Max Holloway joins Joe Rogan to dissect his loss to Alexander Volkanovski, explaining why he felt he’d won in the moment and how leg kicks, judging criteria, and the 10‑point must system shaped the outcome.
- They dive deep into systemic issues in MMA judging, arguing for martial-artist judges, better scoring models, and more weight classes and hydration-based weigh-ins to protect fighters.
- The conversation ranges across heavyweight power punchers, absurd genetics, training philosophy, and fighter mindsets, highlighting how Holloway’s work ethic, cardio, and mentality were forged by his upbringing in Hawaii.
- Holloway reflects on his rapid rise from teen kickboxer to UFC champion, his unwavering desire to fight the best—including potential superfights—and his belief that greatness comes from embracing chaos, hard work, and constant competition.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasJudging in MMA is fundamentally misaligned with the sport.
Holloway and Rogan argue that boxing’s 10‑point must system and non–martial-artist judges create inconsistent, sometimes incompetent scoring, especially around leg kicks, takedowns, and effective damage.
Ex-fighters and skilled practitioners should be judges.
They push for commissions to prioritize former fighters and lifelong martial artists as judges and refs, because they better understand subtle exchanges, grappling impact, and what actually wins fights.
Volume, pressure, and cardio can neutralize raw knockout power.
Using Aldo, Barboza, Wilder, and others as examples, they show how power is often genetic, but a high-output, attritional style with elite conditioning—like Holloway’s—can systematically break powerful opponents over time.
Training must reflect real fight demands, not just aesthetics.
Holloway focuses on “go muscle, not show muscle”—four weekly strength-and-conditioning sessions built around functional strength, circuits, and sprints, always scheduled so he can still push hard in technical sessions.
The weight-cutting system incentivizes dangerous behavior.
They advocate for more weight classes and ONE FC–style hydration testing to keep fighters closer to natural weight and reduce extreme cuts, arguing that current rules are illogical and unsafe.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotes“Out of all my title fights, this is the least damage I took—and I lost my damn belt.”
— Max Holloway
“This is not a street fight. It’s a game—and he out-pointed me in the game.”
— Max Holloway
“We shouldn’t have boxing’s 10‑point must system. It’s not our system.”
— Joe Rogan
“I don’t need the belt to be a champion. I know I’m a champion.”
— Max Holloway
“If you put me in an octagon with him, I’m gonna fight him. Is Khabib human? He’s human just like me and you.”
— Max Holloway
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