Max Holloway has expressed his inclination towards UFC video games rather than watching actual fights to learn things from them. He uses the game as a virtual gym that exercises the mind.
The only reason he was able to beat Joe Aldo was that, by the time he entered the ring, he had studied everything about his opponent by playing against or with him in the game. This helped him greatly to win easily over his opponent.
Max Holloway Is Big On UFC Video Games
Holloway expressed disinterest in watching fights. He called the activity boring since it gets really difficult to get out of the same world. He gets bored by watching what he does on the television or always being near the ring, even when he is not fighting.
He prefers quality time gaming. He has openly expressed his interest in playing the UFC game rather than watching the actual game to learn combos and get better at his craft.
Holloway is set to fight against Calvin Kattar in a featherweight match. During a press conference in Abu Dhabi, he talked about his methods of learning striking combos. He said:
Renan Barao was a killer in the first UFC game, and I remember there’s a couple combos I’d do, and I was like, bro, I got three or four knockouts in a row with the same combo.
People would say, ‘you’re just playing games!’ and I’d be like, ‘No, I’m not. I’m actually getting better at fighting. ‘And I wasn’t lying! I beat Aldo because I knew him like the back of my hand by playing the videogame like him.
Holloway used to recreate the learned combos during mittwork sessions with a friend and practice for long hours.
Holloway Does Not Like Watching Fights
Holloway is against watching fights; he feels that it is a boring activity for him, which would neither help him get better nor would be a better use of time. He is of the opinion that being in the ring is his job; going back there even for recreation feels like a waste of time.
However, he does go to support his friends during some of the big fights, but apart from this, he maintains a healthy distance from his work life and personal life.
Video games, on the other hand, play an important role in his life. His unique technique for getting better at his craft by using video games as a tool has proved quite beneficial in the past. Now that he has an upcoming fight against Kattar, it would be nice to see what moves he has managed to decode this time around. What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments below.
