Getty Max Holloway
Former UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway threw out September as a suitable month for his Octagon return, and he’s eyeing a clash with his fellow MMA veteran, “The Korean Zombie,” Chan Sung Jung.
Holloway got back on the winning track earlier this month when he toppled top-ranked name Arnold Allen via unanimous decision during the UFC on ESPN 44 main event. It was “Blessed’s” first contest since dropping a third decision to 145-pound king Alexander Volkanovski in July.
Holloway appeared on MMA Fighting’s “The MMA Hour” on Monday and during his conversation with host Ariel Helwani, the Hawaiian made it clear he still hopes to win back his old belt — as well as finally defeat “The Great.”
And to do so, he’s willing to take out every contender the promotion throws at him, including The Korean Zombie. After defeating Allen, Holloway shared interest in fighting Jung, and the Korean star commented back that he was all in on the meeting.
Holloway Wants 3 Fights in 2023, Hopes Jung Accepts to Fight Before October
And when speaking with Helwani, Blessed further reiterated his desire to fight the No. 6 Korean Zombie — a man who he has yet to share the cage with. But, if Jung can’t commit to a fight by the end of September, Holloway is more than willing to look elsewhere for a challenge.
“We’ll see what happens,” Holloway said.
“If it’s September, that’d be better. But if it’s October, then I’ll try to ask to probably go a little bit sooner, because if we fought in September then I would like to try and get one in before December. I want to try to fight three times this year. I want to be busy.
“Just to fight, bro — I missed it,” Blessed continued. “We only got to fight one time last year, so we’ve got to catch up. We’ve got catching up to do. I want to hold all type of [UFC] records. I want to hold the most fights, the most wins — just everything. I might as well.”
Holloway Said He Grew Up Watching The Korean Zombie, ‘Tripping on How We Didn’t Fight Yet’
When speaking with the media after halting Allen’s 12-fight win streak, Holloway gave his take on The Korean Zombie, somebody he’s had his eyes on for years.
“Korean Zombie, that is the only guy in my time with the older guys that I didn’t get to fight,” Blessed said. “I would love that fight. There’s a fight in my agent’s fricken country, Australia. Australia is supposed to be happening sometime, we don’t know when, and if Korean Zombie wants it he can get it.
“I would love to fight him. That’s one of the guys I’ve been growing up watching.
“I’m kind of tripping on how we didn’t fight yet. How did we not fight? If that’s one of the guys, that’s one of the guys. I would love to fight and share the Octagon with him. He’s one of the OGs that I didn’t get to fight yet. I was like, we came up in the same era, and we didn’t fight each other. So if that’s it, that’s it.”
Jung heard Holloway’s post-fight press conference comments, and he posted a video to Instagram a few days later, saying in it: “Holloway, if you want to fight me, any time, anywhere. Let’s go, brother.”