Max Holloway sat down with Luke Thomas and had an in depth conversation about many interesting topics. One worth highlighting here are Max’s comments on brain health.
I spend a lot of time talking about brain health, smart training, mileage and damage on this site. No fighter wants to listen to a lawyer about training. So listen to a champion. Holloway has some wisdom on cumulative damage that all young fighters should listen to. The conversation spans about five minutes starting at the 25:50 mark
Thomas questioned Holloway about concerns of cumulative damage observing and asking “I do worry about the amount of damage you have taken over the course of your career. Do you?“
Holloway replied
“Not really. … I understand what you guys see. You guys see me in these wars and these fights, right. So in your guys mind you guys are not thinking of the training….I don’t have no wars in the gym. I do no sparring. I don’t get my head hit in anything (on purpose)….I don’t spar anymore. We don’t do no hard rounds. Everything is much more smarter…We are not cracking each other like how we would. Before my training was worse than the fights! …. “
Thomas went on to ask Holloway about his observations in the industry generally “Do you think fighters, in general, take enough care about that kind of thing (reducing brain trauma)” to which Holloway commented as follows:
“Personally, 100% if you ask me I say no. And I say this to all the fighters out there. Protect your chickens…You guys only get one (brain)…You guys want to be around. I want to be able to throw balls with my great grandkids….I want to be in great, tough shape whenever I need to do life. I don’t want to be in a wheelchair I don’t want to not be able to put a sentence together for my son or my great grandkids. At the end of the day do your job, protect yourself, and don’t be scared to ask for help. The only person you are hurting is yourself. Never ever be scared to ask someone for help“
Protect your chickens!
Combat Sports Law 