Max Holloway upon learning he'll replace Tony Ferguson: 'This is how legends are made'

Longtime MMA manager Brian Butler heard a string of expletives from Max Holloway on Sunday when he passed on news of Tony Ferguson’s withdrawal from UFC 223.

Like most in the MMA world, Holloway (19-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) was in complete disbelief that Ferguson (23-3 MMA, 13-1 UFC) had injured his knee and was forced out of his fourth booking against Khabib Nurmagomedov (25-0 MMA, 9-0 UFC).

But for the UFC featherweight champ, disbelief quickly changed to excitement as the window of opportunity opened.

“He said, Let’s (expletive) go, bro,” Butler, Holloway’s longtime manager with Suckerpunch Entertainment, told MMAjunkie Radio. “This is how legends are made.”

A few minutes earlier, Butler was on the phone to make sure another type of hurdle was cleared. With only six days’ notice until the Saturday pay-per-view card at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., Holloway making weight was his biggest concern.

Butler called noted MMA nutritionist George Lockhart to relay Holloway’s weight and his bodyfat percentage.

“George ran the numbers, and he said he 100 percent could do it,” Butler said. “I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to have any long term effects, and George gave me his word that the numbers worked out.”

Butler declined to say how much Holloway currently weighs, but indicated it won’t be an easy trip to 155 pounds.

“Max is just going to have to knuckle down, and we’re there,” he said.

When Butler called Holloway back later Sunday night to relay the good news from Lockhart, he heard panting. Holloway was on the treadmill.

“We’re going to make it,” Butler said later. “Max is feeling very good and very confident. Just trust that Max is on an airplane to Brooklyn.”

The featherweight champ’s short-notice drop comes two months after he injured his ankle and was forced to withdraw from a headliner against Frankie Edgar (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) at UFC 222.

“He’s been healing up really fast,” Butler said. “The truth is that he was healing pretty well and he was training.”

Until Sunday, Holloway had been training for his next featherweight title challenge, a fight against surging contender Brian Ortega (14-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC). The fight had been targeted for July at UFC 226.

But Butler said Nurmagomedov has been on his client’s radar for a long time. He cited a press conference for UFC 223 where Holloway volunteered to step in on short notice in the event that Ferguson or Nurmagomedov was injured.

“I knew if the opportunity was there, he would take it,” Butler said. “My only real concern is that six days’ notice, if Max can actually make the weight in a healthy manner.”

As for the financial hurdles that can arise in short-notice PPV headliners, Butler indicated Holloway got everything he wanted on that end. For his save, the featherweight champ will certainly share in Saturday’s profits.

For more on UFC 223, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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