Before being booked at UFC 245, Max Holloway refused to seriously discuss his next UFC featherweight title defense until he knew he was medically clear.

A cloud of concern has hung over Holloway (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) after an ugly 2018 campaign that saw him withdraw from three consecutive title fights. The latter of those withdrawals was most worrisome, with Holloway pulling out of a scheduled bout during fight week with a still unknown medical issue.

Since then, Holloway has been hyper-cautious. After beating Frankie Edgar at UFC 240 in July, “Blessed” was immediately confronted about his next title defense against Alexander Volkanovski (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC). He said he welcomed the challenge, but not before ensuring he had a clean bill of health.

Holloway, 27, explained why he felt the need to go through a battery of tests.

“At the end of the day I only care about my long run,” Holloway told MMA Junkie. “I care about my longevity. These guys work for (my son) Rush, they don’t work for me. They want to make sure I’m there for Rush, so that’s what we did.”

Holloway said his tests came back clear of any issues after beating Edgar over the summer, and at that point he was ready to pick up the phone.

The UFC came calling with the matchup against Volkanovski, which serves as the co-headliner of the Dec. 14 card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Volkanovski has insisted he’s going to be the one to dethrone Holloway and bring an end to his historic winning streak in the featherweight division. Holloway, as always, welcomes to the challenge, he said.

“He’s the No. 1 contender, he’s the next cupcake on the list,” Holloway said. “I can’t wait to taste the flavor.”