Max Holloway: ‘I’m obviously on Conor McGregor’s mind’

Max Holloway may not be all that interested in Conor McGregor, but McGregor seems interested in him. The Irish 155 pound champ tweeted about Holloway following the Hawaiian champ's impressive TKO victory over Jose Aldo at UFC 218, but the message wasn't exactly complimentary. Rather than talk about the win, McGregor made a crack about Holloway's appearance. Holloway fired back and called McGregor retired.

“When a bully pulls your hair, you punch him in the face,” Holloway explained on the latest episode of The MMA Hour. “You know, it’s funny. The guy’s funny, I couldn’t help but laugh. I’m on his mind apparently. I told you guys I’m a champion and we just brought order back to the division. I’m trying to think of our division and respect all the other fighters."

That in itself was a bit of a burn against McGregor, who held the featherweight belt for a year but never defended it.

“It took me 10 fights to get the damn interim title shot and then 11 to get an undisputed shot," he continued. "It’s my duty to make sure everything runs smoothly. I gotta respect our sport, my division and the guys that are fighting in it. That’s what I gotta do. At the end of the day, this guy is gonna keep yapping.”

McGregor and Hollway have history - they fought back in August of 2013 and Holloway holds the distinction of being the only featherweight McGregor didn't knock out in two rounds or less, losing instead on the scorecards .

“This guy has got a win over me when we were kids in a Fight Night show — I think the main event was Sonnen and Shogun Rua. I don’t know if the two of them are in the UFC anymore. You know me and him made 12K that night and I think he’s happy to hold onto that. That’s the kind of person he is."

Holloway isn't impressed with McGregor's unwillingness to fight the toughest guys now that he's got the power to call his shots.

"Look at what I did. I fought someone who people consider and who I consider the greatest of all time. I gave him his straight rematch. I didn’t care. If you want to be the best you’ve got the beat the best, and the best is ‘Blessed,’ baby.”

So as far as Holloway is concerned, he'll continue to go the Demetrious Johnson route and try to break championship records for most defenses at his weight class. McGregor can come to him, be he won't chase the enigmatic Irishman.

"If that fight doesn’t happen it’s not on our side, it’s on his," Max concluded. "Right now, I’m focused on champ life!"