With his Jose Aldo tribute, Max Holloway is the UFC champ we don't deserve

Undisputed UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway is the latest fighter to come out with a message of support for dethroned champ Jose Aldo.

Holloway (18-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) beat Aldo (26-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in the third round of this past Saturday’s UFC 212 headliner, unifying the featherweight title and adding an eighth win to his relentless streak. Losing the crown front of the crowd of his adopted Rio de Janeiro home was visibly hard on Aldo, who looked devastated walking out of the octagon.

Holloway carried himself with class after his TKO win, showing respect toward Aldo’s achievements. And, today, the 25-year-old champion took it up a notch with a moving post defending the ex-champ’s legacy and thanking him for serving as an inspiration (via Instagram):

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

“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.”

Saturday’s outcome was only Aldo’s second UFC setback, after a title-costing loss to current lightweight champion Conor McGregor. While the 30-year-old fighter wasn’t available for the post-fight press conference, he’s since issued a statement on his own Instagram page vowing to return to the cage.

For more on UFC 212, check out the UFC Events section of the site.