Max Holloway thinks that Alex Pereira has
got the 2024 Fighter of the Year award “in the bag already”“I don’t know if I could [win fighter of the year]. The way Alex
took fights, the fastest guy to get three title defenses.Advertisement
That’s a hard man to beat… I think Alex Pereira got… pic.twitter.com/PHEXHCxlz7
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS)
October 18, 2024
Despite having an upcoming title shot, Max
Holloway believes Alex
Pereira has already beaten him in the race for the
UFC “Fighter of the Year.”
Holloway was removed from the featherweight title picture despite
having beaten Arnold
Allen and Chan Sung
Jung in 2023. However, the former featherweight champ abruptly
changed his trajectory with an iconic BMF title win over Justin
Gaethje at lightweight at UFC
300 this past April. Holloway is now set to challenge Ilia
Topuria for the featherweight title at UFC 308
on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
If he upsets “El Matador,” Holloway will arguably have a claim for
UFC FOTY status. However, Holloway believes light heavyweight
champion Pereira has already surpassed him in that race, regardless
of the outcome of his bout against Topuria.
Topuria vs. Holloway Saturday at 2 PM ET on ESPN+. Order
Now!
“I mean I don’t know, man. I don’t know that I would do that,”
Holloway recently told Kevin Iole. “The way Alex took fights. I
mean, the fastest guy to defend his title, right, with three title
defenses. That’s a hard man to beat. I mean every time I’m in the
talks for it, somebody’s having a crazy ass year. I think Alex
Pereira has got that win in the bag already.”
Pereira won the title with a knockout win over Jiri
Prochazka at UFC 295 in November 2023. He has since defended
his title three times this year within 175 days. Meanwhile,
“Blessed” is on a three-fight winning streak that includes two
finishes.Topuria will be defending his title for the first time
after winning it with a knockout against Alexander
Volkanovski at UFC 298 this past February.