In MMA, there’s post-fight celebrations and then there’s this…
We’ve seen hundreds of MMA stars showboat over the years, from then-champion Israel Adesanya literally humping his opponent in a UFC title fight to Michael Chandler pulling off four back-flips after knocking out Tony Ferguson in brutal fashion.
Often times, victorious fighters let out a yell or celebrate on top of the cage, as one would following a full training camp.
Not Max Holzer, however. The OKTAGON fighter took his post-fight celebration one step further.
Max Holzer recreates infamous Israel Adesanya celebration
An undefeated featherweight prospect from Germany, Holzer improved to 11-0 with a submission win of Deniz Ilbay in the main event of OKTAGON 69 on Saturday. Holzer locked in a rear-naked choke on Ilbay, tapping out his opponent in the fourth round.
After the fight was over, Max Holzer then proceeded to kiss his opponent on the back of his head.
That wasn’t nearly all though as Holzer delivered a pelvic thrust to Ilbay’s opponent behind, like how Israel Adesanya did to Paulo Costa at UFC 253 in 2020.
Still on the ground, the furious Ilbay retaliated and chased Holzer out of the cage door with strikes.
Holzer fell out of the cage with officials holding Ilbay back.
“That ending was the best I‘ve ever seen, lowkey surpassing McGregor-Khabib,” one fan wrote of Holzer’s celebration, referencing the time Khabib Nurmagomedov jumped out of the Octagon to attack Dillon Danis after defeating his teammate Conor McGregor at UFC 229.
Below is the Israel Adesanya celebration for comparison.
Max Holzer went viral before humping opponent
If you couldn’t tell already, Max Holzer is quite the character.
Before he improved to 5-0 in OKTAGON on Saturday, the prospect walked out to the cage on the shoulders of man dressed up with an inflatable dinosaur costume.
“I knew he would deliver,” one fan wrote of Holzer’s performance.
For one of his fights last year, Holzer walked out to ‘You’ve Got A Friend In Me’ while wearing a Toy Story Buzz Lightyear costume… he choked out his opponent shortly after that.
