Three months into 2018, Max Holloway still doesn’t have the words to describe his 2017 campaign in the Octagon, one that saw the laid back Hawaiian emerge as the undisputed featherweight champion by defeating Brazilian icon Jose Aldo in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro and solidify his standing atop the 145-pound ranks by duplicating that effort six months later at UFC 218 in Detroit.
Part of it is because last year was the culmination of a journey that started in the shadows more than four years ago with a second-round stoppage victory over Will Chope on the preliminary card of the first event broadcast exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS.