Max Holloway will move up to the Lightweight division once again, this time to face current BMF champion, Justin Gaethje, at the upcoming UFC 300 mega event on April 13, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It’s not exactly the fight “Blessed” was expecting after knocking out Chan Sung Jung in Aug. 2023 (see it again here). That’s because the former Featherweight champion of the world was hoping to get back to another chance at reclaiming his title before the promotion decided to take a different route.
“Justin Gaethje looked like he needed a dance partner since Oliveira and Islam was booked at the time, and just threw my name in the hat,” Holloway told longtime combat sports reporter Kevin Iole via MMA Junkie. “The BMF belt is great. Being right there at 55, being that 55 weight class is right there, only 10 pounds away from 45, I can do both classes. Why not throw my name in the hat?”
Currently on a two-fight win streak, which he earned after suffering a third straight championship loss against current champion Alexander Volkanovski, Holloway feels that his options will be endless should he take out Gaethje in “Sin City.”
“It’s options, I think a lot of doors are going to get opened, a lot of options are going to be open. We’ll see what happens. … First things first is the man in front of me. I got a dangerous guy in Justin Gaethje, but we’re going to handle him first, and then after that, like I said: It’s just a game of options,” he added.
“A lot of things can open up after this fight. That’s what I’m focused on. Focused on getting my hand raised, and shock the world, I guess.”
Currently ranked No. 1 at 145 pounds, Holloway could very well cut the line at 155 pounds if he manages to score a more impressive win than Charles Oliveira and Arman Tsarukyan, who are set to collide in a title eliminator fight, also at UFC 300.
That, or he can secure himself a shot at the winner of the upcoming Featherweight title fight between the aforementioned Alexander Volkanovski and Ilia Topuria, which is set to headline UFC 298 on Feb. 17, 2024.