Max Holloway will be fighting with a heavy heart tomorrow afternoon (Sat., Aug. 26, 2023) at UFC Singapore live on ESPN+ from inside Singapore Indoor Stadium in Kallang, Singapore, when “Blessed” takes to the Octagon for the first time following the unfortunate wildfires in Hawaii.
Holloway, who is the most recognizable UFC fighter from Hawaii outside of the legendary BJ Penn, always carriers his home state on his back. “Blessed” has been an advocate for professional mixed martial arts (MMA) organizations coming to Hawaii and still lives and trains in the “Aloha State.” There’s simply no denying his love and support for Hawaii and the people who reside there.
With that in mind, it’s understandable why Holloway is coming into this weekend at UFC Singapore with an extra heavy heart. Earlier this month, Hawaii was struck by a collection of devastating wildfires that have turned into one of the worst natural disasters in American history. The incident struck the Lahaina area really bad, killing over 100 people with over a thousand residents still missing.
Earlier this week, Holloway was asked about the Hawaii wildfires during UFC Singapore’s pre-fight media day. “Blessed” is as mentally strong as they come, but even the former UFC featherweight champion started to choke up while discussing the deadly disaster.
“You guys saw how everything went down, how the Lahaina people were let down by the state, by the government. But the Hawaii community, they stepped up,” Holloway said (shown above). “The people stepped up, the Hawaiians stepped up, and then after the Hawaiian’s stepped up, the world stepped up. You guys are seeing everything, people helping — the UFC is helping out with ‘UFC loves Hawaii’ and so on and so on. It’s just a tough thing. I just shared my story about how some people ended up passing away.
“It’s just tough, man.”
“Those guys are the real heroes right now,” continued Holloway. “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.”
As Hawaii stills tries to recover from the horrible wildfires Holloway will have his chance to provide some good this weekend in Singapore. If the featherweight great can once again deliver an epic performance inside of the Octagon and outclass his opponent, “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, then maybe he can deliver some temporary relief to the Lahaina people.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Singapore fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN+ preliminary card bouts at 5 a.m. ET, followed by the ESPN+ main card start time at 8 a.m. ET.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC Singapore news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive here. For the updated and finalized “Holloway vs. Korean Zombie” fight card and ESPN+ lineup click here.