Max Holloway says he’s the new face of MMA in Canada

Max Holloway believes he’s the gold standard of mixed martial arts in Canada.

Holloway is proud to hail from Hawaii, but he’s expressed his love for Canada as well. He often refers to the country as the “10th Island.” He’ll put his featherweight gold on the line against Frankie Edgar in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on July 27. The bout will headline UFC 240.

A media luncheon was held to promote UFC 240. During the session, a reporter said there’s a lot of talk that Canada no longer has their face of MMA with Georges St-Pierre retired. Holloway jokingly took exception (video via MMAFighting).

So, who's the face of the #UFC in Canada? Featherweight champ @BlessedMMA says you're looking at him. 🇨🇦

Watch full video: https://t.co/edlDqcXfbe pic.twitter.com/jCC0rtAEsi

— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) July 18, 2019

“You are wrong, you’re looking at him.” Holloway said. “You know, we’ll see what happens. We call it the 10th island, but Canadians I got nothing but for love for them man. They got nothing but love for me. It was Canada Day the other day. I don’t know if you saw the meme [of] famous or successful MMA fighters. Had four guys – GSP, Rory MacDonald, I don’t know who the other one was, and then there was me. So you Canadians I love you guys, eh?”

Holloway has been on quite a roll, winning 13 of his last 14 outings. Holloway fell short in his bid to capture interim lightweight gold, losing to Dustin Poirier via unanimous decision. It’s Holloway’s first loss since Aug. 2013. Since the fight was contested at 155 pounds, “Blessed” didn’t have his featherweight title up for grabs.

Do you think Max Holloway’s popularity in Canada warrants him being dubbed the face of MMA in the country?