Max Holloway is helping kids from Hawaii to stay in shape.
The former UFC featherweight champ recently donated $50,000 to help open a Boys and Girls Club in his native Waianae, Hawaii, per FOX affiliate KHON2.
Holloway, the 2021 winner of the UFC’s Forrest Griffin Community Award, also was honored as the new health ambassador for Boys and Girls Club Hawaii; there are nine Boys and Girls clubhouses across the state. Holloway taught a fitness class to local youth after the ceremony, tutoring kids on their punching technique.
“The championships, the fights, the glory, the money, that’s all cool,” he told the affiliate. “But when you pass away, nothing’s left. This is a legacy, doing a gym like this. 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.
“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.”
Holloway is set to face Justin Gaethje for the “BMF” title at UFC 300, which takes place April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“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,” Holloway said.