Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight titleholder Max Holloway is currently ranked No. 1 at 145 pounds, but won’t find himself in the title conversation until Alexander Volkanovski — up two-zip on the “Blessed” Hawaiian — defends his strap against No. 2-ranked Brian Ortega in the UFC 260 pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event next month inside APEX in Las Vegas.
That’s why Holloway, 29, is planning to keep busy with a return to action this July.
“I want to fight three times this year, maybe get in there in the summertime, July hopefully, and then get in on another card with UFC so we’ll see what happens,” Holloway told MMA Junkie. “That’s just what I want to do in a perfect world, fight July, fight in December.”
As for the UFC 260 co-headliner?
“With Alex and Ortega coming up, everybody knows I’m the cloud over that fight,” Holloway continued. “At the end of the day, let them focus on each other, and then, when it’s all said and done, the reign is gonna continue, so I can’t wait.”
Holloway (22-6) is fresh off his five-round beating of No. 6-ranked Calvin Kattar at UFC on ABC 1 and with any luck, can score himself a fan-friendly fight against the likes of “The Korean Zombie” or Zabit Magomedsharipov, though we’ve yet to hear from the promotion on a possible opponent.
Stay tuned.