Max Holloway will carry Hawaii on his back into Korean Zombie fight

Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway is a proud Hawaiian fighter. He has made it a point to represent his home state every time he steps into the Octagon. When he steps across from Chan Sung Jung, aka “the Korean Zombie,” at UFC Singapore, Holloway is changing things up to clearly represent his fellow Hawaiians and victims of the recent Maui wildfires.

What are the Maui wildfires of 2023?

The wildfires, which began on Aug. 8, raged across the Hawaiian island of Maui in four days, decimating the town of Lahaina as it did so. Well over 100 people have been confirmed as dead with an estimated 1,000 others still missing. 

Maui’s wildfires have burned at least 3,200 acres or roughly 10 square miles of the island’s 735 square miles of land. 

Max Holloway made several changes for UFC Singapore to honor the Maui wildfire victims

Born in Honolulu, Holloway’s emotions were extremely evident as he talked with the MMA media about Maui ahead of Saturday’s fight with Jung, expressing displeasure with how the state and the government let down the people of Lahaina.

“You guys saw how everything went down, how the the Lahaina people was let down by the state, by the government, but the Hawaiian community, they stepped up. The people stepped up. The Hawaiians stepped up. And after the Hawaiians stepped up, the world stepped up,” Holloway said just before his voice began to crack, tears welling in his eyes.

“It’s a tough thing man. Those guys is the real heroes right now. They’re going through it.”

He noted that the UFC has pledged money and is fundraising for the Hawaii wildfire relief effort. Holloway himself is also making some first-ever changes as he prepares to step into what he calls a “legacy fight” for his career.

“My walkout song is gonna be dedicated to (the people of Maui), and they said we should use red to solidify with those guys that was in the fire and going through it. So I’m actually going to be using read for the first time in my UFC career. I’ve been using the black universal, but I was able to be granted red for this (fight’s) shorts,” Holloway explained.

“I always go in there with Hawaii on my back, but it feels a little bit heavy right now.”

(UFC Singapore takes place at an early start time of 2 a.m. PT / 5 a.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 26. Max Holloway faces Chan Sung Jung in the UFC Singapore main event. MMAWeekly.com will have UFC Singapore live results as the fights happen.)

Max Holloway talks UFC Singapore, Chan Sung Jung, and honoring victims of the Maui wildfires