The Film Room: Max Holloway
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Max Holloway on Saturday will move up to 155 pounds for the first time in his career when he challenges Dustin Poirier for the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title at UFC 236 in Atlanta and attempts to avenge a February 2012 submission loss to “The Diamond.” Holloway made his promotional debut as a 20-year-old and tapped to a triangle armbar from Poirier at UFC 143. Seven years later, the rematch features two men in their respective primes.
Holloway provides the material for this installment of The Film
Room.
Although he is one of the most diverse strikers in the sport, Holloway relied on an age-old combo to bust up Ortega for four straight rounds. Holloway’s timing, range and length allowed him to land nearly every 1-2 down the middle that he threw and showed that he can rely on his intangibles and the basics of hand-to-hand combat to take out one of the top contenders in the division. He mixed up the 1-2 to the body to get Ortega blocking low and then came back up with the 1-2 to the head while Ortega’s hands were low. It was simple but effective.
A key to Holloway’s striking success is his ability to take angles during combinations in the pocket. Holloway’s entire game relies on being able to comfortably fight out of both stances and his ability to cut angles at a moment’s notice. Holloway showed another tricky way to hide one’s stance switches when he took a deep V-step to Aldo’s right side while switching to southpaw. He immediately threw a strike, hoping the switch went unnoticed, allowing the strike to come at an angle Aldo was not expecting. Anybody at the highest levels can fight out of both stances, but few can hide their switches in motion and trick the opponent into thinking he is in once stance before coming forward with a combo from the other.
Holloway has a knack for showing how effective hiding stance switches can be. Against Cub Swanson, Holloway leaped into a southpaw stance and landed two hooks to the body before exiting. Mimicking a favorite combo of boxing legend Roberto Duran, Holloway against Aldo routinely switched to southpaw while throwing a 1-2 and then threw a hook from what was now his lead hand.
Holloway has used low line kick to the thighs and shins in the past, and he could benefit further from using the technique in the future. He can utilize the low line kick to hide his stance switch before coming in with a quick combo to the body. These low line kicks work wonders for someone wanting to fight on the outside and keep the opponent at a safe range. Since Holloway will not have the height and reach advantages to which he is accustomed and because Poirier is a fantastic inside boxer, expect to see more low line kicks from the Hawaiian, as he probably does not want to turn the rematch into a back-and-forth war. However, Holloway continues to surprise and show new wrinkles to his game with every appearance, so no one truly knows what to expect from him in his lightweight debut.
Max Holloway on Saturday will move up to 155 pounds for the first time in his career when he challenges Dustin Poirier for the interim Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title at UFC 236 in Atlanta and attempts to avenge a February 2012 submission loss to “The Diamond.” Holloway made his promotional debut as a 20-year-old and tapped to a triangle armbar from Poirier at UFC 143. Seven years later, the rematch features two men in their respective primes.
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Holloway is one of the trickiest strikers in MMA history, and
despite his long lanky frame, he arguably does his best work in the
pocket. Against Jose Aldo,
many expected Holloway to stay on the outside and pick apart the
Brazilian with his length, but instead, he took the fight to Aldo
and decimated him with quick combos in the pocket and a ridiculous
pace. In his most recent fight with Brian
Ortega, many expected the same, as Holloway did not want to go
to the ground with the dangerous grappler. However, Holloway came
forward the entire fight with no fear of being taken down and ended
up putting on the most dominate striking performance in UFC title
fight history, all while confirming that he is the greatest
featherweight to ever step inside the Octagon. His patience and
ability to switch stances in between combos while mixing it up to
the head and body never allowed Aldo or Ortega the room to
counter.
Although he is one of the most diverse strikers in the sport, Holloway relied on an age-old combo to bust up Ortega for four straight rounds. Holloway’s timing, range and length allowed him to land nearly every 1-2 down the middle that he threw and showed that he can rely on his intangibles and the basics of hand-to-hand combat to take out one of the top contenders in the division. He mixed up the 1-2 to the body to get Ortega blocking low and then came back up with the 1-2 to the head while Ortega’s hands were low. It was simple but effective.
A key to Holloway’s striking success is his ability to take angles during combinations in the pocket. Holloway’s entire game relies on being able to comfortably fight out of both stances and his ability to cut angles at a moment’s notice. Holloway showed another tricky way to hide one’s stance switches when he took a deep V-step to Aldo’s right side while switching to southpaw. He immediately threw a strike, hoping the switch went unnoticed, allowing the strike to come at an angle Aldo was not expecting. Anybody at the highest levels can fight out of both stances, but few can hide their switches in motion and trick the opponent into thinking he is in once stance before coming forward with a combo from the other.
Holloway has a knack for showing how effective hiding stance switches can be. Against Cub Swanson, Holloway leaped into a southpaw stance and landed two hooks to the body before exiting. Mimicking a favorite combo of boxing legend Roberto Duran, Holloway against Aldo routinely switched to southpaw while throwing a 1-2 and then threw a hook from what was now his lead hand.
Holloway has used low line kick to the thighs and shins in the past, and he could benefit further from using the technique in the future. He can utilize the low line kick to hide his stance switch before coming in with a quick combo to the body. These low line kicks work wonders for someone wanting to fight on the outside and keep the opponent at a safe range. Since Holloway will not have the height and reach advantages to which he is accustomed and because Poirier is a fantastic inside boxer, expect to see more low line kicks from the Hawaiian, as he probably does not want to turn the rematch into a back-and-forth war. However, Holloway continues to surprise and show new wrinkles to his game with every appearance, so no one truly knows what to expect from him in his lightweight debut.
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