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For some time now, Max Holloway's goal has been to reclaim his UFC featherweight title. Thus, many wondered why he accepted a 'BMF' title fight with Justin Gaethje at lightweight. According to a recent interview with the Hawaiian, he fears the possibility of the sport passing him by.
In his opinion, waiting only contributes to spells of inactivity, which culminate in MMA advancing past such fighters. Holloway will not allow this fate to befall him, as he aims to punctuate UFC 300 with an impressive win over 'The Highlight'.
"I thought that if Topuria was to beat Volk in any way, Volk gets a direct rematch. Volk did enough work to earn himself a direct rematch. And then with the Gaethje situation, who knew that Charles was gonna get a bad cut, and Islam couldn't turn around and fight. You wait in this sport, the sport goes by you, and it goes by you quick."
Check out Max Holloway detailing his reasoning behind accepting the Justin Gaethje matchup:
Holloway makes a fair point. Both the featherweight and lightweight divisions are in curious situations. Alexander Volkanovski, who recently lost his featherweight title to Ilia Topuria, will likely earn a rematch at some point. That leaves 'Blessed' out of the title picture.
With no other compelling matchups available, he accepted a bout with Gaethje, a former interim lightweight champion, as a convincing win over him would almost certainly cause fans to call for a featherweight title fight on his behalf. This is especially true given that both men will face off on a grand stage at UFC 300.
Max Holloway has fought in the UFC lightweight division before
Back in 2019, Max Holloway made a daring move to the 155-pound division, where he faced Dustin Poirier for the UFC interim lightweight title. The pair had a back-and-forth clash that saw Holloway take tremendous damage yet still bring the fight to 'The Diamond,' who could not finish him.
Check out Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier:
The two dragged each other to hell and back in UFC 236's Fight of the Night. Despite his best efforts, Holloway tasted defeat via unanimous decision but is now determined to taste victory in only his second UFC lightweight bout.
