If Conor McGregor’s recent knockout loss to Dustin Poirier has in fact removed him from the UFC’s lightweight title picture then maybe it’s time for “Notorious” to finally rematch Max Holloway.
McGregor, who lost to Poirier via second-round TKO in his return to 155 pounds last month at UFC 257, holds a unanimous decision win over Holloway from a featherweight clash over seven years ago. It remains McGregor’s only decision win at 145 pounds throughout his entire professional career. The loss also lit a fire under Holloway as he went on to claim a historic 14-fight win streak in the UFC’s featherweight division.
Holloway, who is coming off a masterful performance against Calvin Kattar at UFC on ABC 1 back in January (highlights HERE), seems open to fighting just about anybody. The former UFC featherweight champion holds a 0-2 record against current 145-pound titleholder Alexander Volkanovski and may have to wait until the end of the year to get another crack at the belt. Instead, it might make sense for Holloway to take another shot at 155 pounds and meet McGregor inside of the Octagon for their long-awaited rematch.
In an interview with Brendan Schaub during a recent episode of Food Truck Diaries, Holloway revealed that UFC is already mulling over the idea of a potential rematch between “Blessed” and “Notorious.” Holloway didn’t give too many details but did say it’s on a short list of fights UFC is considering.
“I’m not here to kick a man while he’s down, but I think that fight with me and Conor is on a very short list with the UFC,” Holloway said.
“If he was to win the fight (with Poirier) I think it would have been a little bit different, a little bit greater,” Holloway added. “I think that fight would have happened, but we’ve got nothing but time.
“He’s not going nowhere, I’m not going nowhere. Build the man back up, I’m going to keep doing my thing, let him do his thing… The UFC, we had talks here and there about it. It’s on a very short list for the UFC and I’m just excited for it.”
While McGregor is lobbying for a trilogy bout with Poirier this summer “Notorious” has always included Holloway in the list of fighters he wants to face before he calls it quits. “Blessed” is arguably the most dominant featherweight fighter of all time and believes he’s the best boxer in MMA today, which McGregor obviously doesn’t agree with. Maybe that’s enough for the two fighters to come together and square off in a rematch well overdue.
What do you think? Is Holloway vs. McGregor 2 something worth booking? Who wins the rematch?
Let us know in the comments below!