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Max Holloway has revealed that it was Jose Aldo who initially motivated the former to believe in the fact that strikers could be champions in this sport. The former UFC featherweight champion took motivation from the Brazilian veteran and believed in the fact that if Aldo could become a champion by striking only, then so could he.
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In the recent episode of Food Truck Diaries, Max Holloway opened up on Jose Aldo's influence on his career. Having watched Aldo compete during his WEC days, Holloway told Brendan Schaub that the quote "Train till your idols become your rivals" turned into a reality for the former featherweight champion.
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"Man, Jose is a beast. He is a beast and that's the guy that actually motivated me to believe that strikers could be champions. You know what I mean? He was the guy that I watched in WEC and I was like 'Bro if this guy can do it, with striking only. I can do it with striking only'. And you know what they say, 'Train till your idols become your rivals' and it was so real, so so real to actually be standing across the cage, not once, like you said, but twice."
As he mentioned, Max Holloway did share the octagon with Jose Aldo on two different occasions. At UFC 212, Blessed defeated Aldo in the third round of their fight in the main event of the pay-per-view.
The rematch between Max Holloway and Jose Aldo occurred at UFC 218. Blessed once again reigned supreme over The King of Rio in another main event fight that ended in the third round as well.
What's next for Max Holloway?
Max Holloway is likely to face the winner of the upcoming UFC featherweight championship fight between Brian Ortega and Alexander Volkanovski. Holloway has already faced both fighters in the past but following his impressive win over Calvin Kattar, Blessed is likely to receive the next shot at the title.
UFC 260 is scheduled for 27th March 2021 and will be another tough test for T-City, who challenges a dominant champion in the form of Volkanovski.
