Max Holloway will fight Justin Gaethje for the symbolic ‘BMF’ title at UFC 300 on April 13th and he’s now calling for legendary UFC hall-of-famer Mark Coleman to present the belt to the winner.
Coleman was recently hailed a hero after narrowly surviving a house fire that saw him rescue both his parents and attempt to save his dog before being overcome by smoke, leading to him being rushed to hospital in a helicopter and kept in an induced coma for a period of time.
Thankfully the 59-year-old Coleman is now well on his way to recovery and Holloway sees the historic UFC 300 event as a perfect place to honor the UFC’s first ever heavyweight champion, two-time tournament winner and so-called ‘Godfather of Ground-And-Pound’.
“The only correct answer is Mark Coleman,” Holloway told MMA Junkie regarding who should present the belt. “Especially with what he went through recently with his dog and his dog waking him to go save his stuff and he goes in there and runs for his dog? The guy’s a G. That’s a real life BMF. That would be sick if he did it. It would be an honor to get him to do it.”
Beyond that though, Holloway is more excited to fight Gaethje than to actually win the belt.
“The belt is the belt – the belt is cool – it’s whatever,” Holloway said. “The things that can come with the belt can be life-changing, so we’ll see what happens. But I’m more excited that I get to share the octagon with Gaethje. It’s amazing. It’s amazing to share the octagon with a future Hall of Famer in him and, title or no title, being able to fight him is one of the best things I’m looking forward to.”
