Max Holloway likes the idea of adding the BMF title belt to his collection.
Holloway, a former UFC featherweight world champion, is at a crossroads in his mixed martial arts career. ‘Blessed’ has established himself as the 145-pound division’s gatekeeper over the years, but after coming up short in three separate attempts to defeat reigning champion Alexander Volkanovski, many fight fans are wondering where Holloway goes following his latest win over Arnold Allen.
According to Holloway, the path forward could potentially lead him back to the lightweight division in pursuit of the UFC’s official bragging rights belt, the BMF championship. The title of Baddest Motherf*cker will be once up for grabs in the UFC 291 main event on July 29 as former interim titleholders Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier run back their 2018 Fight of the Year in a five-round main event that is unlikely to need the full 25 minutes.
Appearing on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Max Holloway discussed the trajectory of his career, suggesting that a scrap with the eventual BMF titleholder could be in the cards. ‘Blessed’ also teased the possibility of a scrap with former lightweight world champion Charles Oliveira.
“People keep harassing me about [Justin] Gaethje anyway so at the end of the day, that would be fun. At 155, there’s a lot of fun fights for me,” Hollway said. “Maybe [Charles] Oliveira too. Of course, I never got to finish the thing with Khabib.”
Max Holloway sees some intriguing fights at lightweight: Charles Oliveira, Islam Makhachev, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje… 👀 #TheMMAHour
▶️ https://t.co/CQJ6IDeaq2 pic.twitter.com/tzj04OVVCy
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) June 14, 2023
Holloway is certainly keeping his options open, though he can’t help but imagine how nice the BMF title would look on his shelf alongside his UFC featherweight championship.
“We’ll see what happens. Like I said, bro, we’ll see the lay of the land. Never say never. I know people sh*t on the BMF belt, but that belt would look real nice in a collection.”
This wouldn’t be the first time Holloway has toyed with a move to the 155-pound division. In April 2019, ‘Blessed’ moved up in order to challenge Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight title at UFC 236. Holloway came up short, losing the bout via unanimous decision. Holloway’s lack of size and power were key factors in his defeat against ‘The Diamond’ and would undoubtedly be an issue to address before another attempt in the heavier weight class.
Do you think Max Holloway can compete at lightweight after seemingly hitting a brick wall at 145?
