It’s unlikely that Max
Holloway will compete at featherweight again.
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After going 0-3 against Alexander
Volkanovski in their title fight trilogy, Holloway wasn’t in
featherweight title conversations until recently. However, the
title picture changed with Ilia
Topuria’s knockout win over Volkanovski at UFC 298 this past
February.
Meanwhile, Holloway went on score an iconic knockout win over
Justin
Gaethje for the BMF title in a lightweight matchup at UFC 300
in April, securing himself a featherweight gold bid. The former
champ challenged “El Matador” at UFC 308
on Oct. 26 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. While Holloway was
seemingly getting ahead on the scorecards, Topuria handed “Blessed”
his first career KO loss in the third round.
Holloway expressed interest in moving up to 155 pounds immediately
afterward. The Hawaiian has now confirmed that he is moving up to
lightweight for good. While Holloway had a nice weight cut for his
clash against Topuria, he notes that cutting less weight is always
easier as one grows older.
“I think I’m done with 145 [lbs.]… We’re only getting older. I’ve
done 33… No excuses, this cut was easy bro. Shoutout to my wife to
help me make this cut really easy but it takes a toll cutting
weight, period,” Holloway recently said on his YouTube channel.
“Whatever weight you are… I had to give up ramen for my ’45 camp,
so I’m done with that. I don’t ever wanna give up ramen again. 155
here we come and 155 is where I want to stay. This is a new
chapter, this is where we start, this is where we begin… Never say
never but I can honestly look you guys in the eyes and tell you
guys, ‘I’m probably not going back to 145.’”
🚨Max Holloway confirmed he won’t fight in
the featherweight division again:“I can honestly say that I’m done with the 145-pound division. 155,
here we come—and 155 is where I want to stay. This is a new
chapter; this is where we begin.”🎥 YT @BlessedMMA
▫️ pic.twitter.com/KxMfKpTk5o— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight)
November 2, 2024