Max Holloway explains why he won’t be sparring ahead of UFC fight with Calvin Kattar: “Sparring is like an ego trip”

UFC featherweight contender Max Holloway has explained why he won’t be sparring ahead of his upcoming bout against Calvin Kattar.

Holloway is set to return to action next month when he faces off against Kattar in what will be his first non-title fight since UFC 199 in 2016. “Blessed” will be hoping to build his way back up to another Featherweight Championship shot and a trilogy showdown against rival Alexander Volkanovski.

During a recent interview with ESPN, though, the Hawaiian sensation made an interesting declaration about his lack of sparring plans in preparation for Kattar.

“I really loved how the last camp I didn’t spar,” Holloway said (via The Body Lock). “It opened my eyes. I get injured sparring a lot before fights and I felt great going inside that fight without sparring.

“… Sparring is like an ego trip. I understand you got to do something but you can figure out different ways to move and get it done. … During the whole training camp, it helped a lot to actually put our priorities straight. I got to take out some things, I got to add a little more things. It was just changing up the recipe and the last one, I thought went pretty well and we’re kind of sticking to it and we’ll see how this one goes.”

While the fight against Kattar is obviously huge for Holloway, he hasn’t forgotten about Volkanovski – and his warrior spirit hasn’t gone away just because of two defeats, either.

“If it was Kobe (Bryant) and Michael (Jordan), they would play 10 times, just to let people know who the best is,” Max Holloway told ESPN. “That’s the mentality I strive for. If you want to run it back 100 times, we can do it. I’m gonna show you I’m the better guy. I don’t know what kind of mentality (Volkanovski) has, but I know what I want to do and what kind of legacy I want to leave.

“This guy is sitting at a place that’s not right with me. I don’t feel like it’s right. Are we gonna fight again? It’s up to him,” Holloway said. “If I had it my way, I’ll fight you 10 times in one night, 10 times once a month. I’m a competitor. I need to compete. I truly believe I was put on this earth to fight and compete.”

How do you think Max Holloway will look in his Octagon return?