UFC: New featherweight champ Holloway posts tribute to Aldo

Losing is part of this fight game. Saturday night takes nothing away from his legacy. This is a guy who would show up to his gym sometimes without eating in the last day because he was so damn poor. This is a guy who built the 45 division and became king. This is a guy who found motivation to keep earning what he already had. He defended his throne. For a decade. For honor. For his team. For his countrymen. This is a guy who didn’t start at pole position in this world and look at what he achieved. Brazil needs to celebrate that man. Acai with powered milk and cashews for everyone. He’s a GOAT, and his story will always be an inspiration to me and people of Hawaii. Obrigado, Ze @josealdojunioroficial Obrigado.

A post shared by Max Holloway (@blessedmma) on Jun 7, 2017 at 10:04am PDT

After the dust has settled and all was said and done, Max “Blessed” Holloway still carries a lot of admiration and respect for Jose Aldo.

The two engaged in an epic slugfest at UFC 212 over the weekend, with the proud Hawaiian emerging victorious and unifying the UFC Featherweight title via a third-round TKO stoppage.

READ: Holloway stops Aldo in 3rd, wins UFC featherweight belt

Although he talked a lot of smack to his Brazilian counterpart prior to the fight, Holloway was all class afterwards and even posted a heartfelt tribute to the longtime Brazilian champion.

The 25-year-old newly crowned titleholder posted two photos on his Instagram account, along with a lengthy caption for Aldo.

“Losing is part of this fight game. Saturday night takes nothing away from his legacy. This is a guy who would show up to his gym sometimes without eating in the last day because he was so damn poor,” he described Aldo’s remarkable rise from poverty in Brazil.

“This is a guy who built the 45 division and became king. This is a guy who found motivation to keep earning what he already had,” he wrote.

“He defended his throne. For a decade. For honor. For his team. For his countrymen,” he continued.  “This is a guy who didn’t start at pole position in this world and look at what he achieved.

He ended his tribute by thanking Aldo in his native Portuguese.

“He’s a GOAT (Greatest of all time), and his story will always be an inspiration to me and people of Hawaii. Obrigado, Ze @josealdojuniorfficial Obrigado,” Holloway said.

As of this writing, Holloway’s post has garnered over 44,000 likes on Instagram.  Khristian Ibarrola /ra