Max Holloway Biography

Max Holloway was born Jerome Max Keli'i Holloway, on December 4, 1991, in Honolulu, Hawaii, US, to Mark Holloway and Missy Kapoi. Holloway grew up in Waianae, which was known for its culture of fist fighting.

Holloway has Native Hawaiian and Samoan roots. He had a difficult childhood. His father apparently abused his mother and abandoned them when Max was barely 11.

While both his parents were drug addicts, his mother later recovered. She was able to raise Holloway with the help of her family.

In 2007, Holloway began training in kickboxing. He was 15 back then and was about to finish his sophomore year.

He won his first amateur bout after just 3 days of training. He studied at the Waianae High School and graduated in 2010. However, by the time he finished high school, Max had already scored a 4-0 amateur record.

Max Holloway has not just won multiple Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) titles, he is also considered a legend in mixed martial arts. Known as Max “Blessed” Holloway to his fans, he did not look back since he stepped into combat sports at 15.

After starting his training in kickboxing, Holloway made his amateur debut at Destiny MMA-Maui No Ka'oi 2 in 2010. He scored a win by punches in the third round.

In September 2010, Holloway turned professional and fought at X-1-Heroes, against Duke Saragosa. He won by a unanimous decision. Holloway won the next fight in X-1 and then got a title shot at the X-1 Lightweight Championship, fighting against Harris Sarmiento. Holloway won again by a split decision.

He then had a bout at UIC 4: War on the Valley Isle, against Eddie Rincon. He won by a unanimous decision again. In 2012, Holloway joined the UFC at UFC 143, as a replacement for Ricardo Lamas, who was injured back then.

On February 4, 2012, Max Holloway made his UFC debut against Dustin Poirier in the featherweight division at UFC 143. While Holloway lost in the 1st round itself, by submission (triangle armbar), he followed it with a 3-fight win. He then lost again in consecutive matches, against Dennis Bermudez and Connor Mcgregor respectively.

Following this, Holloway scored a 9-fight winning streak, defeating fighters such as Charles Oliveria and Jeremy Stephens. He then contested for the Interim UFC Featherweight Championship, fighting against Anthony Pettis at UFC 206, on December 10, 2016. Holloway won in the 3rd round by TKO (kick to the body and punches).

Following this, on June 3, 2017, Holloway fought at UFC 212, against Jose Aldo, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with an aim to unify the Featherweight Championship. Jose Aldo was defeated by Holloway in the third round by TKO, and Holloway thus took over as the new UFC Featherweight Champion. Soon, Holloway rematched Aldo at UFC 218 and won by TKO again in the third round.

Holloway was then supposed to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223, for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship. However, the New York State Athletic Commission barred him from fighting in the bout due to the weight requirement.

Following this, Holloway defended his Featherweight Championship against Brian Ortega, at UFC 231 in Canada, on December 8, 2018. That night, Holloway not just won the Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night awards, but also broke several records.

Holloway soon graduated to lightweight and fought Dustin Poirier at UFC 236, for the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship. Holloway lost in a close match, by a unanimous decision.

Holloway then returned to featherweight to defend his title at UFC 240, against Frankie Edgar, on July 27, 2019. Edgar was defeated by Holloway by a unanimous decision.

Following this, Holloway had a bout against Alexander Volkanovski for his 4th title defense, at UFC 245. Holloway lost the bout by a unanimous decision and lost the championship, too.

He soon had a re-match against Volkanovski at 251, aiming for the featherweight title. In the controversial match that followed, Holloway lost by a split decision.

Max Holloway then fought at UFC on ABC 1, against Calvin Kattar, on January 16, 2021, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He defeated Kattar easily by a unanimous decision. In this match, Holloway also scripted history by creating the UFC record for the highest number of significant strikes landed (445 out of the total attempted 744 strikes). Both Holloway and Kattar won the Fight of the Night award.

On November 13, 2021, Holloway fought against Yair Rodríguez at UFC Fight Night 197, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, and won by a unanimous decision. The interesting and close match, too, ended with both the fighters winning the Fight of the Night award.

In July 2022, Holloway lost the UFC Featherweight Championship bout against Alexander Volkanovski, at UFC 276, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The decision was unanimous.

In his illustrious career, Holloway has created several records, such as those for the longest winning streak, most KO/TKO wins, and the most finishes in the history of the UFC Featherweight division. He also became the first US fighter to win the UFC Featherweight Championship.

He has won honors such as the 2017 World MMA Award for the Charles 'Mask' Lewis Fighter of the Year, the Sherdog award for the 2021 Beatdown of the Year, and the RealSport award for the 2017 Fighter of the Year. He also has a Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

In 2012, Max Holloway married his long-time partner Kaimana Pa’aluhi. She is a model and has also appeared in a few movies. The couple had a son, Rush Holloway, before they separated in 2014 and divorced in 2017.

Following his divorce, Holloway began a relationship with Hawaiian professional surfer Alessa Quizon in 2020. On April 16, 2022, the couple got married.

Starting her career as a pro surfer in the 2009 Women’s CT, Quizon later also became a sensation on Instagram. Quizon was the winner of the 2015 Maui and Sons Pichilemu Woman’s Pro, too.

Holloway and his former wife, Pa’aluhi, are now on good terms and share the custody of their son, Rush. Holloway calls his son Mini Blessed and often travels with him on work trips and takes him along at press conferences.