Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway has donated $50,000 to open a Boys and Girls Club in Waianae, Hawaii, and has been named the new health ambassador for Boys and Girls Club Hawaii, where he is teaching fitness classes to local youth.
Max Holloway’s got a mission. He’s all about keeping Hawaiian kids fit.
The ex-UFC featherweight champ’s done something incredible. He’s given a whopping $50,000 to kickstart a Boys and Girls Club in his hometown, Waianae, Hawaii. That’s according to FOX affiliate KHON2.
Holloway’s not just a fighter, he’s a community hero. In 2021, he bagged the UFC’s Forrest Griffin Community Award. And now, he’s the new health ambassador for Boys and Girls Club Hawaii. Nine clubhouses across the state, imagine that!
What’s he doing as an ambassador? Teaching fitness classes, for starters. He’s been showing local kids how to perfect their punch.
Holloway’s got a perspective that’s pretty refreshing. “The championships, the fights, the glory, the money, that’s all cool,” he admitted to the affiliate. “But when you pass away, nothing’s left. This is a legacy, doing a gym like this.”
He’s got big dreams for these kids. “Hopefully, 10 to 12 years, you guys are here interviewing one of the kids that trained that’s having a fight, that’s fighting for a world title. That’s the plan.”
Holloway’s humble, too. “People always tell me, you’re the greatest fighter out of Waianae or out of Hawaii. That’s a lie. I’m not. There’s a lot of fighters out here that are greater than me. I was just able to have places like this, have people around me, positive people, to put me in the right spot to show what I can do.”
Next up for Holloway? He’s squaring off against Justin Gaethje for the “BMF” title at UFC 300. That’s happening April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
But it’s not all about the fight for Holloway. “At the end of the day, giving these kids a safe area, surrounding them with great people … great mentors, and being able to unlock their full potential and do it the right way,” he said.
And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?