It’s not uncommon for professional fighters to endure a rough upbringing. Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway has recently opened up about his own childhood in Hawaii, telling Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour that, with his parents almost entirely absent, he was raised mostly by his grandparents.
“I really didn’t have both of them. I didn’t have a dad at all. And it was funny, it took my wife to explain to me, ‘Yeah, you had father figures, but that’s not the same.’ My grandpa was my father figure. She had a hard time explaining it. ‘He’s like me dad!’ ‘But he’s not! He’s still your grandpa.’
UFC Featherweight Max Holloway Opens Up On His Harsh Childhood
And it finally hit me, he was a father figure, but he wasn’t my actual father. So if I can give my son a father and mother, it would be great.” Holloway revealed that not only was his father absent, but his mother’s presence was far from positive.
“I sorted that out quite a while ago. When I was growing up I wanted to contact him, and for some reason my mom had her reasons and was always like, ‘No, no, no.’ Finally I was of age, I did it my side, tried it out, it didn’t really work out. It’s cool. I understand. I’ve got not ill will toward the guy. I’ve got to send love his way. Without him, I wouldn’t be here today.”
I go home, I grab this bandana, thinking at that time you wanted to be a ninja, you put it on your head or you put it on like a cowboy. Pulled this thing off the shelf, and a freaking crack pipe hits the ground.
I see it, and I’m like, ‘Holy s***. What the hell?’ I’m putting it together, like ‘Wow.’ At first I was like, what is this?
I fixed it, put the bandana back, and one year later, sixth grade is [where] the DARE [Drug Abuse Resistance Education] program [is taught], and I found out like, ‘Holy s***. That’s a crack pipe. What the hell is going on?’ I didn’t know [what was going on with my mom].
It was insane, but I saw some stuff you’re not supposed to see. Like my mom fighting with her siblings and stuff in front of us when we were kids.
To me, this is normal. This is normality, because I see this, so I’m not questioning it, and then when you watch these movies and stuff you’re like, ‘This is fake. There’s no way a family can be like this.’
At the end of the day, there’s just things I feel like I had to go through, I had to endure, so I can get my story out later on.”
