Max
Holloway had an inkling that Chan Sung
Jung might go for broke in their headlining bout at UFC Fight
Night 225.
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That’s exactly what happened in Round 3, when “The Korean Zombie”
threw caution to the wind before Holloway landed the decisive blow
to win via knockout 23 seconds into the period. Shortly thereafter,
Jung laid down his gloves in an emotional farewell.
“I think he knew exactly what had to be done,” Holloway said at
Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I think he knew what the
job was. It was kill or be killed. I was just lucky that I was on
top on the other side of it. We both threw right hands. Mine just
landed a tad quicker. A half-second slower, who knows, his lands
first what would have happened? I don’t know if I would have ate it
or a lot of stuff could have gone wrong.
“I think I hurt him in the second round good. Between the second
and the third, he was sitting there and being like, ‘I’m not going
to coast through a five-round [fight], I’m going to die on my
sword,’ and that’s what he did. That’s why people love ‘The Korean
Zombie.’ He’s a legend in every way of the sport.”
For Holloway, it was his first victory inside the distance since a
doctor stoppage victory against Brian
Ortega at UFC 231 on Dec. 8, 2018. Prior to facing Jung, the
Hawaiian’s last eight bouts had been five-round affairs.
“I needed a finish,” Holloway said. “I was due for one. What better
place to do it [than where I started] my 12-fight win streak before
I got the title, here in Singapore. This was my first ever walkoff
KO. It was amazing. Something was in the air.
“The people of Lahaina, Maui, they gave me their power in my right
hand. They call me ‘Pillow Holloway.’ I was like, ‘OK, whatever.’ I
guess we had stones in the pillowcase today. It was good.”
Holloway has won four of his last five outings within the Las
Vegas-based promotion and remains the 1A in the featherweight
division to Alexander
Volkanovski’s No. 1. “Blessed” isn’t giving up hope on making
another title run at with his 32nd birthday on the horizon.
“They say your best years is in your mid 30s. You don’t really get
grown man strength until your mid 30s. So I feel great,” he said.
“I want to win the title back. I want to defend it a bunch of
times, and after we do that, maybe even go up a weight or two to
get more titles. We’ll see what happens. Anything is possible.”