Holloway statement on being declared medically unfit to fight
Max Holloway: “Khabib Nurmagomedov my brother, I want to keep going but they are stopping me. Sorry to your team and the fans. You don’t deserve this.”
If a hero has emerged from the UFC 223 cluster f***, it’s UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway. When Tony Ferguson tripped on a cable and tore a ligament in his knee, ‘Blessed’ was asked to step up on six days notice. He reached out to his nutritionist, who said making weight was possible.
Holloway has long struggled to make the 145 title limit and was coming off a leg injury. His weight was so high nutritionist George Lockhart said it would be tied for the largest he had ever supervised. No exact weights were even given.
Holloway said he had never missed weight for a fight. Technically, he still hasn’t. Doctors for the New York State Athletic Commission declared him medically unfit to fight. Holloway didn’t whine, he apologized.
“Khabib my brother, I want to keep going but they are stopping me,” he tweeted. “Sorry to your team and the fans. You don’t deserve this. This is number one. Shout outs to you and Anthony Pettis. Give the fans what they deserve.”
https://twitter.com/BlessedMMA/status/982261222736199681
Gameness is the will to win greater than the will to live. Holloway is game. He doubtless would have willingly cut so hard he went to the hospital. Kudos to the NYSAC for stopping the high-profile cut.
The culture of extreme weight cutting in mixed martial arts remains a deadly problem. Andy Foster, executive director of the California State Athletic Commission has created a 10 Point Plan to fix the deadly problem. It works. The ABC medical committee supports it. The ABC has adopted it. The UFC supports it and will continue to adopt further parts of it. This would be an opportune moment for the NYSAC to consider it.