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Max Holloway has addressed the possibility of Charles Oliveira or Alexander Volkanovski fighting UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for the latter's title. It's believed that Makhachev is likely to return at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on October 21, 2023.
Makhachev beat Oliveira by way of second-round submission to capture the UFC lightweight title in October 2022. He then defended the title by defeating Volkanovski via unanimous decision in February 2023.
Oliveira subsequently secured a dominant first-round TKO win against Beneil Dariush at UFC 289 on June 10, 2023. Meanwhile, Volkanovski hasn't competed since his loss to Makhachev.
In an interview with TheMacLife, former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway suggested that his former opponent Charles Oliveira has earned the right to a title rematch against Islam Makhachev.
Chiming in on Oliveira's UFC 289 victory, Holloway stated:
"I think Charles is amazing, man. You know all the naysayers and everybody saying he's done and blah, blah, blah? He's getting his rightful spot in October to get that rematch. And I'm excited to watch that happen."
Besides, Holloway is no stranger to 'Volk.' They've clashed thrice inside the octagon in UFC featherweight title bouts, with Volkanovski emerging victorious on all occasions.
During his interview with TheMacLife, 'Blessed' was asked if he sees the UFC booking a possible Oliveira-Makhachev rematch next instead of a Volkanovski-Makhachev rematch.
'Blessed' replied by indicating that Volkanovski could leapfrog Oliveira into a title rematch against Makhachev, provided 'Volk' does something impressive in his upcoming fight against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290. Holloway said:
"Oh, brother. I think he [Oliveira] did more than enough. But we'll see. Alex is still coming up on July 7th. If Alex goes out there and does something amazing, I think UFC picks him too. So, we'll see what happens. I guess it's a gamble right now."
Watch Holloway discuss the topic at 2:17 in the video below:
Dana White on UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev potentially defending his title against Charles Oliveira next
As noted, there's been speculation that reigning UFC lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev could defend his belt against Charles Oliveira or Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294. Alternatively, some feel that the winner of the BMF title fight between Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje at UFC 291 on July 29, 2023, could fight Makhachev for the lightweight belt at UFC 294.
During the UFC 289 post-fight press conference, Dana White insinuated that Charles Oliveira's spectacular victory over Beneil Dariush may have already earned him a title rematch against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. Nevertheless, the UFC president clarified that the Oliveira-Makhachev rematch hasn't been made official yet.
White stated:
"He [Oliveira] looked like a world-beater tonight. And I'm excited for him and Islam to fight again... I'm just saying it's the thing [fight] that makes sense." White added, "Let's not play games. That fight makes sense. That's the fight that should happen. And I'm excited to see it again."
Watch White's assessment below:
