Max Holzer is a German prospect on the rise at 145 pounds. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
(Alexander Hassenstein via Getty Images)
Max Holzer’s latest victory almost resulted in Oktagon MMA’s version of Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor.
The German featherweight prospect earned a big victory in Oktagon 69’s main event Saturday, scoring a fourth-round rear-naked choke submission of Deniz Ilbay. In celebration, the 23-year-old Holzer capped off the 11th consecutive win of his undefeated career with a kiss to the back of Ilbay’s head, followed by a hip thrust. Ilbay immediately sprang to his feet to rush and attack Holzer, with the action spilling out of the cage in a chaotic scene that quickly went viral.
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Holzer explained Tuesday on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show” that his reaction was somewhat of a “joke” but also that frustrations led to the moment after six months of trying to make the fight.
“The problem was that in the fourth round, his corner was assaulting me and screaming things to my direction,” Holzer said. “Even before, they said, ‘Let him go.’ Crazy things. I don’t know why the referee didn’t do something about it. I think maybe because of the speech barrier.
“It got me very angry because it was a personal fight too. We did not like each other. So I did this, and I have to say it’s one thing to do a disrespectful move like that, but it’s another thing to try to punch the other guy after the fight. I think that cannot be done.
“What I did was not good too, but they did not know the backstory,” Holzer added. “When you understand German, you can hear they were assaulting me. What’s the reason for that?”
Holzer said Ilbay is the opponent he’s had the most personal beef with thus far in his MMA career, and claimed the origin of the bad blood ultimately boiled down to Ilbay’s disingenuous claims and antics.
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“He was always like, ‘You’re too young. You’re a guy who’s forcing the attention. You lie, what you do you don’t do really seriously.’ I was angry about that,” Holzer explained. “He was even lying about things I was saying. He was like, ‘You assaulting my family,’ and I would never attack a man’s family. His father was writing under every picture of me. Even I shook his hand and he continued to do something like that.”
Holzer said he apologized to Ilbay at the event’s post-fight press conference but it was declined. The dust was still settling at that point, he said, and things escalated to a level where there were safety concerns amid the post-bout chaos in Dortmund, Germany, with security trying to get everyone out as quickly as possible.
“The crazy thing was even they had to bring me out of the arena with many security guards,” Holzer said. “They said to me, ‘You have to leave your attire. You have to leave the city. They will try to attack you.’ I don’t know if that’s the truth, but the security told me. There was like 10 security [guards] out of the cage and out of the arena.
“I don’t really know what is the deal with these guys. His father was in his corner and knocking out a fan, so I know what I did was very disrespectful, but I could not think about my team knocking out a fan. A guy who’s making us able to do our job. The fans have to be always safe, in my opinion. That behavior cannot be accepted.”
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The incident could’ve been worse considering the wild tumble the fighters took out of the cage door and down a small flight of steps. Holzer said he ultimately believes he’s fine, though he has some back pain, which could’ve come from the fight rather than afterward.
In the end, it may have been good that security acted swiftly, as Holzer also received threats from Ilbay’s fans.
“They said they want to beat me up with many, many people,” Holzer said. “They came in and said, ‘They are waiting for you. You can’t get out. You can’t get to the [doctor’s] check.’ I had to wait with my cuts, bleeding inside the cage. I was nervous about that.
“Even [in the lead-up to] the fight, [Ilbay] said he was two times on the way to my city to beat me up. This guy always said that he is a fair sportsman, and I am not because I make jokes, and my [walkouts] and something like that. But I think he has really shown his true face and that he is not a fair sportsman. I don’t want to blame him, and I don’t really like to say something even after he’s down right now and has lost. But I have to say, what he and his father did has nothing to do with sports for me.”
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Holzer’s life has largely remained the same in the days after his win. Or at least, it has aside from a social media explosion; the incident more than doubled Holzer’s Instagram account followers overnight.
Ilbay was Holzer’s fifth consecutive win in the Oktagon cage, and he’s happy with how the promotion has treated him early in his career. If Holzer can help grow MMA in Germany while adding experience to his résumé, he’s all for it. Ideally, “Stifler” hopes to return for two more fights this year.
After that, Holzer believes he’ll be ready to fight in the UFC.
“I think every fighter’s goal at the end is to go [to the UFC], but I will see what Oktagon brings me next,” Holzer said. “This year, I am signed to Oktagon. Next year, we will see what happens then.
“I was many times in America, and I think when this year’s over, I will be ready to compete. I’ve trained at American Top Team and Xtreme Couture a couple times. I like very much to train there. It’s always a thing to stay longer in America. I really want to stay longer this year.”
