Max Holloway speaks out against gun violence after recent shootings: “Put the guns down boys”

Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway wants to see an end to gun violence.

‘Blessed’ is just a few months removed from his monumental UFC 300 win over Justin Gaethje. With that victory, Max Holloway earned the ceremonial ‘BMF’ championship. Despite some brief talk about a potential lightweight title bout against Islam Makhachev, the Hawaiian instead decided to return to 145 pounds.

Next month in Abu Dhabi, Max Holloway will face defending featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. ‘El Matador’ famously won the gold from Alexander Volkanovski in February with a stunning knockout win. Eight months later, he’s set to make his first title defense against Holloway.

Entering the contest, the Hawaiian seemingly has a lot on his mind. A few weeks out from fight day, Max Holloway appeared on local news station KHON2. There, the UFC featherweight contender was asked about recent violence in West Oahu. In Holloway’s home state, there have been several high-profile shootings as of late.

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Max Holloway speaks out against gun violence ahead of UFC 308 return

In the interview, Max Holloway made a passionate plea for Hawaiians to put the guns down. ‘Blessed’ added that young men should go to the gym, or just fight the old-school way if there’s a major issue. Regardless, the 32-year-old fighter believes that something has to change.

“It sucks, man. Put the guns down, boys.” Max Holloway told local Hawaii news station KHON2. “Put ‘em down. If you guys got a problem, do it the old-school way. Go to the boxing gym, put on some gloves and punch each other and then shake hands and be on with it. I remember when we were growing up, street fights, I wouldn’t say do it, but shooting someone is something different.”

He continued, “At the end of the day, stop the violence, go to the gym. Go do something, go lift weights. Go throw weights. Play video games or something. You wanna shoot somebody, go play Apex or Call of Duty or something like that, you know? Keep the violence off the streets, and you have to think about the younger generation that’s coming up… Let’s not add more [violence].”

What do you make of these comments from the UFC featherweight contender? Are you excited for Max Holloway’s return next month?