Chan Sung Jung revealed that Max Holloway’s great-grandfather was Korean. Now, a historical record bearing his ancestor’s name has raised the possibility that Holloway’s family was connected to efforts supporting independence activist Jung Geun Ahn.
Max Holloway’s connection to Korea may go back much further than his friendship with Chan Sung Jung.
The former UFC featherweight champion has developed an increasingly close relationship with Korean MMA since facing “The Korean Zombie” in 2023. Holloway has visited Korea, supported Jung’s ZFN promotion and maintained a friendship with the man whose career he helped bring to a close.
Now, Jung has revealed another surprising piece of the story.
According to Jung, Holloway has Korean ancestry through his great-grandfather, whose name was Ho Seon Choi.
That revelation has since led to an intriguing historical discovery.
A record from Hawaii reportedly lists a man named Ho Seon Choi among those who contributed money toward efforts supporting the legal defense of Korean independence activist Jung Geun Ahn following Ahn’s assassination of Japanese statesman Hirobumi Ito in 1909.
The name matches that of Holloway’s Korean great-grandfather.
If they are the same person, Holloway’s newly revealed Korean roots could carry a remarkable connection to one of the defining periods of modern Korean history.
There is, however, an important distinction: the matching name does not by itself prove they were the same individual.
Chan Sung Jung Reveals Holloway’s Korean Ancestry
The story began when Jung recently discussed Holloway’s family background on social media.
According to Jung, Holloway’s great-grandfather was “100% Korean,” and his name was Ho Seon Choi.
It was a surprising revelation about a fighter who has always been closely identified with Hawaii.
But Korea and Hawaii share a significant history of their own.
The first major wave of Korean immigration to Hawaii began in the early 20th century, with many immigrants arriving to work on the islands’ sugar plantations. Those communities subsequently became important overseas centers of support for Korea during the Japanese colonial period.
That history makes the discovery of Choi’s name particularly interesting.
A Ho Seon Choi Appears in Historical Records
According to information now circulating about Holloway’s ancestry, a historical record connected to Hawaii’s Korean community identifies a Ho Seon Choi as a contributor to a fundraising campaign associated with Jung Geun Ahn’s legal defense.
Ahn assassinated Hirobumi Ito at Harbin railway station on October 26, 1909.
Ito had served as Japan’s first Resident-General of Korea and was one of the central figures associated with Japan’s increasing control over Korea. Ahn regarded the assassination as an act of resistance against Japanese imperialism.
He was subsequently arrested, tried by Japanese authorities and executed in 1910.
During the period following his arrest, Koreans overseas organized efforts in support of Ahn. According to the historical information that has surfaced, fundraising also took place among Koreans in the Lahaina area of Maui between late 1909 and early 1910.
Among the contributors was reportedly a man named Ho Seon Choi, who donated $1.
That name is significant because it matches the name Jung identified as Holloway’s Korean great-grandfather.
Is It Max Holloway’s Great-Grandfather?
That is where the story becomes fascinating — but also where some caution is necessary.
At this point, there are two pieces of information.
Chan Sung Jung says Holloway’s Korean great-grandfather was named Ho Seon Choi.
Separately, a historical record from Hawaii reportedly contains the name Ho Seon Choi among contributors supporting the effort surrounding Jung Geun Ahn’s legal defense.
The matching name has naturally raised speculation that they could be the same person.
But that connection has not yet been conclusively established through genealogical records.
Confirming it would likely require additional documentation connecting Holloway’s family directly to the Ho Seon Choi who lived in Hawaii during that period — potentially through immigration records, census information, birth and marriage documents, residence records or other family history.
Until that evidence is established, it would be premature to state as fact that Holloway’s great-grandfather participated in the fundraising campaign.
Still, the possibility is significant enough to warrant further investigation.
From Korean Zombie Opponent to Friend
The revelation is even more interesting considering how Holloway became connected to Korea in the first place.
Holloway and Jung met inside the Octagon in August 2023 at UFC Fight Night in Singapore.
For Jung, it would become the final fight of his career.
The two featherweights delivered the type of fight many expected, with Jung aggressively pursuing Holloway before the fight ended just 23 seconds into the third round.
Holloway knocked Jung unconscious during a wild exchange.
Shortly afterward, Jung removed his gloves and announced his retirement from MMA.
But what could have simply been the final chapter of Jung’s UFC career instead became the beginning of a friendship.
Holloway showed tremendous respect for Jung following the fight, and the two remained in contact after Jung’s retirement.
Their relationship eventually brought Holloway to Korea.
Holloway Becomes Part of Jung’s ZFN Story
As Jung transitioned from fighter to promoter, Holloway became an unexpected supporter of his next chapter.
Holloway has visited Korea multiple times at Jung’s invitation and participated in activities connected to ZFN, the MMA organization founded by the Korean Zombie.
In 2025, Holloway participated in ZFN fighter auditions as well as fan meetings and seminars.
Later that year, he appeared at ZFN 03 as a cornerman for Jeremy Santiago.
It created an unusual transformation.
Holloway had gone from being the final opponent of Korea’s most internationally recognizable MMA fighter to actively supporting the promotion that fighter built after retirement.
And now there appears to be another reason for Holloway’s relationship with Korea to feel personal.
He has Korean blood himself.
A Korean-Hawaiian Story More Than a Century in the Making
Holloway has never been shy about representing Hawaii.
“Blessed” has carried the Hawaiian flag throughout his career, and his identity as a Hawaiian fighter has been central to his rise from a young UFC prospect to one of the most accomplished fighters of his generation.
Discovering Korean ancestry doesn’t change that identity.
Instead, it potentially adds another chapter to his family’s Hawaiian story.
Korean immigrants began arriving in Hawaii more than a century ago. Some became involved in organizations and fundraising movements supporting Korea from thousands of miles away.
Now, one of MMA’s most famous Hawaiian fighters has learned that one of his own ancestors came from Korea.
And the name of that ancestor may appear within the historical record of that same immigrant generation.
The evidence currently establishes an intriguing coincidence rather than a confirmed historical connection.
Ho Seon Choi was the name Jung identified as Holloway’s Korean great-grandfather.
Ho Seon Choi is also reportedly the name of a man who donated to fundraising efforts associated with Jung Geun Ahn’s defense in Hawaii.
Whether those two men are definitively the same person remains to be established.
But the possibility gives an already unlikely MMA friendship an extraordinary historical dimension.
Max Holloway first became closely connected to Korea because he fought Chan Sung Jung.
He stayed connected because the two became friends.
Now it appears Holloway’s connection to Korea may have actually begun generations before either man ever stepped inside an Octagon.
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