Max Holloway's wife Alessa Quizon reveals UFC star pursued her for five years before she said yes

The former UFC featherweight champion’s persistence eventually paid off with his wife.

Max Holloway’s journey to winning UFC gold may have been difficult, but convincing his now-wife Alessa Quizon to give him a chance appears to have required even more patience.

During a recent appearance on the Brotherlee Time podcast, Holloway and Quizon shared the story of how their relationship began. According to Quizon, the former UFC featherweight champion spent five years trying to get her attention before she finally agreed to go out with him.

Quizon recalled that Holloway would consistently find ways to stay in touch, even attending her birthday celebrations over the years as he quietly tried to build a connection.

“He sent me that direction, like, ‘Hey, we should hang out.’ And I already knew where this was going. I was like, damn. I think, ‘I fell for the trap.’ He was doing this for five years now. He would come to my birthdays.

Oh, he would tell you. He’s like, ‘I’m planting the seed.’ He was very persistent. Again, I respected Max, though. I know he was a great athlete from what I’ve heard.”

Alessa Quizon had no idea Max Holloway was a UFC superstar

Holloway also revealed that Quizon had effectively left him on read for five years before eventually giving him a chance. While she admitted she knew he was an athlete, she had no clue that he was one of Hawaii’s biggest sporting stars.

Quizon explained that she never followed mixed martial arts and only discovered Holloway’s celebrity status after friends reacted to seeing them together.

“I never watched UFC, nothing. I didn’t know he was a big deal till I got home. Everybody’s like, yeah, Max, how’s it going? Can I get a picture?… So I had one of my friends be like, ‘Oh, you’re hanging out with Max? Do you not know he’s like a big deal here?’ … I was like, ‘Oh, cool. All right, I’ll do my research.’

I was like, ‘Oh dang, I didn’t know.’ But I didn’t see that. Like, I just thought he was a really nice guy. Again, very persistent… I was like, man, this guy [is] on all the gas right now.”

Despite learning about Holloway’s accomplishments later, Quizon made it clear that his fame wasn’t what changed her opinion. Instead, she saw him as a genuinely kind person whose determination never crossed into arrogance.

Max Holloway opens up about the moment his son asked to call Quizon “Mom”

The podcast also offered a glimpse into Holloway’s family life, with the UFC star praising Quizon for embracing motherhood despite never having children of her own before joining their family.

Holloway shares his son, Rush, with former partner Kaimana Pa’aluhi, and revealed that Quizon immediately stepped into a parental role, making the youngster feel welcomed and loved from the very beginning.

The former champion became emotional while recalling a memorable moment when Rush, at just seven years old, approached him with a heartfelt question that left a lasting impact on the entire family.

“She didn’t have any kids, but she jumped right in headfirst and did it. She made Rush feel so loved… This kid, when he was seven years old, came up to me, and he’s like, ‘Dad, can I call Auntie Alessa Mom?’ That was insane, you know… He goes and asks her, and she calls her mom now.”

For Holloway, the moment symbolized far more than a successful relationship. It reflected the bond Quizon had built with his son and underscored why their family had grown stronger together after years of patience, persistence, and unwavering commitment.

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