Max Holloway is hoping to return to action in July.
Max Holloway has been forced to pull out of his last two fights, but the reigning featherweight champion is hoping to return to the Octagon to defend his title against surging contender Brian Ortega at UFC 226, according to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani.
Holloway, 26, was forced to withdraw from his UFC 222 title bout with Frankie Edgar after sustaining a leg injury in training. The Hawaiian was also declared ‘medically unfit’ to compete at UFC 223, where he was expected to take on Khabib Nurmagomedov in a short-notice fight for the undisputed lightweight championship.
Nurmagomedov, 29, went on to dominate Al Iaquinta in the main event, becoming the first Dagestani champion in the promotion’s history.
Holloway, who trains out of Gracie Technics in Honolulu, Hawaii, is on a twelve-fight win streak and is considered one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. His upcoming opponent, Ortega, is on an impressive six-fight win streak of his own and shocked the world when he knocked out Frankie Edgar in the first round of last month’s UFC 222 main event.
According to Helwani, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is looking to book Holloway vs. Ortega to boost the highly anticipated headlining bout between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier at UFC 226.
The pay-per-view extravaganza takes place later this year, July 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.