Believe the hype! Max Holloway says ‘Blessed era’ won’t end anytime soon, vows to be active champ in 2018

“The Machida era” — which was supposed to bring a long and terrorizing reign to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight division — lasted one controversial title defense before Lyoto Machida was knocked out by Mauricio Rua at UFC 113.

Max Holloway wants to make sure “The Blessed era” lasts longer than that.

“(My goal for 2018 is) two or three title defense and two or three times of putting the hammer down and letting everyone know that I’m here to stay for a long time,” Holloway told MMAjunkie. “‘The Blessed Era’ is in full effect. There’s a lot of new contenders rising. I’m excited about the future. It’s about proving my worth now. I get to show that 2017 wasn’t a fluke.”

Holloway already has one defense to his name, defeating Jose Aldo — the same man he beat to earn the undisputed title — at UFC 218 by way of third round technical knockout (see it again here).

Having competed three times in the span of a year, Max isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon, and he’s ready to take on any and all comers.

“I’ll fight everyone and anyone and I’m going to keep my gas on the foot-peddle,” Holloway said. “This is just one year of champ life and I’m not ready to give it up. I just turned 26 and I want to fight until I’m 35 or so. Who knows? Once 35 comes we can make the decision. I want to retire from the game, not let the game retire me. I don’t want to leave the game all busted up trying to hang on to false hope. I want to leave with my chin up, smiling and say I did everything I could possible do. That’s what I want to do. I’m going to put on stellar performances and make everyone believe the hype,” concluded “Blessed.”

Max’s next title defense will likely come against Frankie Edgar, who was forced out of UFC 218 with an eye injury. Should Holloway prove successful, there are plenty of young up-and-comers ready to keep the Hawaiian-born fighter busy for a while.