Max Holloway and Stephen Thompson jokingly bid for ‘NMF’ title showdown

Max Holloway and Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson have had a little bit of fun with fans on social media by teasing the idea of an ‘NMF’ championship showdown.

The back and forth started when Holloway channeled his inner Nate Diaz by imitating his now-famous speech directed at Conor McGregor from a few years back. Holloway took exception to Vicente Luque and Stephen Thompson fighting it out for the ‘Nicest Guy in MMA’ title, which was an obvious joke in response to the fact that on the same card at UFC 244, Nate Diaz will fight Jorge Masvidal for the baddest motherf***** championship.

Thus began one of the more entertaining exchanges on Twitter between MMA fighters in recent times, reminding us that there is, in fact, a lighter side to this game.

You're taking everything I worked for @WonderboyMMA . You know who's the reeeal nice guy fight. Me https://t.co/edwtRwT82l

— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) October 10, 2019

No no I insist. The honor is all mine. @danawhite @ufc I'd like to open the cage door for this gentleman at #UFC244 https://t.co/FEp3WYk16T

— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) October 11, 2019

As noted already, Wonderboy will be stepping back into the Octagon at Madison Square Garden in a few weeks time to take on Vicente Luque. Thompson is coming off the back of a knockout loss to Anthony Pettis, which marked his third defeat in four fights.

Holloway, on the other hand, last competed inside the cage back in July when he defeated Frankie Edgar to retain his UFC featherweight championship. The win marked his return to the division after he stepped up to lightweight in order to challenge Dustin Poirier, which was a fight Blessed lost by unanimous decision. Max is set to defend the featherweight belt against rising challenger Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 245.

Due to the difference in weight this proposed fight is obviously never going to happen, or at least not anytime soon, but it’s always nice to see fighters not taking themselves too seriously. The heightened emotions that come with competing, or even being involved in mixed martial arts, can be exhausting for everyone involved at times.

Regardless of whether or not Max Holloway and Stephen Thompson win their next fights, you can bet they’ll have a smile on their faces afterward.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 10/11/2019.