Many fans are excited to see the striking of Max Holloway once again on display against Charles Oliveira, but the current BMF titleholder says he is also ready if things go to the ground.
The pair will meet on March 7th inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with Holloway attempting to defend the BMF belt for a second time after dispatching Dustin Poirier into retirement last July. At this time, the speculation surrounding the match is that Holloway will do his best to keep things standing and avoid the always threatening Jiu Jitsu skills of Oliveira.
But in a recent interview, Holloway stated that despite wanting to stand with Oliveira and trusting in his takedown defense, he actually welcomes the ground game as well and trusts in his own submission grappling skills.
“I find it funny, people say that this is a striker vs grappler matchup, but this is MMA,” Holloway said of Oliveira.
“Charles is not a straight jiu-jitsu guy, he uses his strikes to set up his grappling. I’ve seen some people say, ‘If it goes to the ground, it’s over for Max,’ and I’m like, what?!
“I am very confident in my takedown defense, but also my ground game. I’ve been training in jiu-jitsu for years, I love it. I have way more jiu-jitsu sessions now than any other aspect, and I actually like them the most.
“I like training in the gi. I saw some things online with people saying why am I doing that, it’s unrealistic,” Holloway continued. “But if you can’t hold me down in a gi, then you’re not going to hold me down when I’m all sweaty in an MMA fight.”
(h/t Bloody Elbow)