Summer Memories Reveal Happy Times for Collection of MMA’s Best

Charles Oliveira would fly kites. Alexander Volkanovski relished the heat. Amanda Nunes would walk barefoot through the forest. And Jorge Masvidal? “I loved drinking from the hose. That was a f------ ball.”

Summer is an unforgettable time of the year.

But it is even more than that. It also represents a time of joy, especially during childhood.

As its golden curtain begins to draw and fall starts to appear, a collection of the best in MMA was asked to share their favorite summer memories.

Thinking back from when he was a child, one summer souvenir immediately entered the mind of Charles Oliveira.

“Summer was the perfect time for me to fly my kite,” said Oliveira, who spoke through a translator. “I would never tire of it.”

Oliveira grew up in Brazil’s picturesque São Paulo. At the age of seven, doctors discovered he had a heart murmur, which initially limited intense activity. But the resourceful Oliveira found new ways to spend his time.

“Every day, I looked forward to waking up and flying kites,” said Oliveira, who challenges Islam Makhachev for the lightweight championship this fall at UFC 294. “If I was lucky, my friends would fly kites with me, too.”

Oliveira’s childhood innocence sharply juxtaposes the imminent danger that arises whenever he steps into the cage. Yet that is the beauty of summer as a child. Those months are carefree, as Max Holloway recalled, with very few responsibilities.

“My best friend and I would meet every morning, and we’d make the 15-20 minute walk every day to the beach,” said Holloway, who is from Waianae, a part of Honolulu in Hawaii. “We’d somehow find enough coins to get to 7-11 and buy some sweets. If we were real lucky, we’d scrap up enough money to get a Slurpee.”

Long before he was spending his summer training for a bout against The Korean Zombie, Holloway’s only priorities were the beach, friends, and food.

“We’d eat spam musubi all day,” said Holloway. “Some people might say it’s rice and spam. I say it’s amazing. You have no idea how good that tastes when you’re hungry.”

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards’ story is one of triumph and overcoming adversity in England. But there was a time prior to that, before his family moved to the United Kingdom, when he cherished his summer vacation in Kingston, Jamaica.

“Those are happy memories,” said Edwards. “Summer break was a lot of futbol with my friends. We played in the streets, just enjoying life. Financially, we weren’t there, but I wasn’t even 10 years old yet, so I didn’t know that. I was living in a wooden shack in Kingston, but I was so happy.”

Unsurprisingly, the sense of adventure that summer carries strongly appealed to a young Amanda Nunes, who lived in Pojuca, Bahia, Brazil.

“I’d play in the river, I’d play in the forest,” said Nunes, whose fearlessness was developed at an early age. “I went outside all the time. I loved the farm and playing with the horseys. I’d play in the mud, too. I loved everything about summer.”

Now a mother, Nunes laughed at the notion of how much summer has changed for some children.

“Back then, you didn’t worry about holding a phone in your hand or your pocket,” says Nunes. “Not everyone knows this, but being on your phone cannot compare with being barefoot outside. It is so much fun. I love doing it all over again in the summer with my daughter.”

As the fighters reminisced about summer memories, it was fascinating to catch glimpses of their current selves embedded in their childhood stories. That was apparent with Jorge Masvidal, who was seeking nonstop excitement during the summer in Miami.

“I would ride my bike all day long, from eight in the morning until eight at night,” said Masvidal. “I’d do all kinds of tricks. I’d jump off anything. At some point, I’d stop to see my mom and get a snack. When I got older, summer sucked. I worked all day so I could pay for training. But I loved it as a kid.”

Masvidal then smiled and shared one of his favorite summer pastimes.

“I loved drinking from the hose,” said Masvidal. “Is that even allowed now? Back then it was. Drinking from the hose, that was a f------ ball.”

All across the world, summer is cherished. It makes no difference whether the locale is England or Russia.

“I grew up on the seaside,” said Allen, who grew up in Ipswich, England. “In the summer, we were always down the beach. That was the time to make boats, which were really rafts. It wasn’t very safe, but we’d make the rafts out of tires and wood. We’d float down the river and have good fun. And when it was time to eat, everybody loved fish and chips, but I had a more American side–I loved cheeseburgers. If I made a boat and ate a cheeseburger, that was a great day.”

Sergei Pavlovich’s summers were spent in the orchards and hills of Russia. The heavyweight contender delighted being surrounded by his friends as they picked the fruit trees near his home.

“All the kids, we would gather in the hills,” said Pavlovich, who spoke through a translator. “We’d play soccer and swim in the lake. After that, we’d go to the orchards and collect apples and plums. Summer was all about being outside with friends all day.”

Alexander Volkanovski, the UFC’s reigning featherweight champion, loved the intensity of the summer months.

“I enjoyed the heat,” said Volkanovski, who grew up in Australia. “It could be extreme heat, but I liked it. I still do.”

Volkanovski is a pure competitor, but that doesn’t mean he cannot relax. Summer represented a perfect opportunity for him to do just that.

“Soaking up the beach, I loved summer,” said Volkanovski. “Whenever I’m in Vegas now, the heat reminds me of being on holiday back home.”

As August transitions to September, that familiar feeling of saying farewell to summer returns. But there is no reason to be too distraught. Oliveira, reflecting on the end of summer, offered a kind consolation.

“You look forward all year to summer,” says Oliveira. “At least you know it will be back.”