In 2025, Max Holzer continued his win streak and went viral due to what happened once the fight ended.
When Israel Adesanya stopped Paulo Costa following a masterclass performance in 2020, he made sure to cement his win with one more statement.
The middleweight champion stood over his Brazilian rival after the referee stepped in and thrust towards him, which led to some criticizing Adesanya’s actions.
Holzer received a similar reaction due to the way his last fight ended, where he took what ‘The Last Stylebender’ did and went one step further.
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Max Holzer reflects on the positives and negatives of his post-fight brawl in OKTAGON
At OKTAGON 69, Max Holzer fell out of the cage after being chased by his opponent, Deniz Ilbay.
Ilbay reacted in this way after his German rival followed up his submission win by kissing his opponent on the back of the head and copying Israel Adesanya’s celebration.
Ahead of the undefeated star’s long-awaited return at OKTAGON 88 on May 16, he told Bloody Elbow that the attention that came from this moment did result in some negatives.
“When I go outside, I have to take pictures with people all day but it’s no problem,” Holzer said. “I’m very grateful for all my fans, for all my supporters and even for the people who hate me because they’re also watching. It’s more pressure, I had to deal with it first but I’ve had one year to really try to focus on myself.”
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Holzer added that while he’s not the type of person to spend time regretting his actions, which he feels were justified due to comments that Ilbay’s team made, he would rather be known for his skills.
“It’s nothing I can b—- about because many fans are not professional fighters. So, of course, they don’t remember you for this and that. But, at the end of the day, I want to be also a great fighter and push my career with performances.”
The undefeated 24-year-old is now set for another heated clash, this time against former UFC fighter Khalid Taha.
They were originally set to meet last September, with Taha’s comments about Holzer being forced to withdraw from the matchup adding more fire to their eventual meeting.
“He tried to really hurt my image so yeah, of course it’s personal and I will make him pay for that,” he said.
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