“When I lost to Dustin the first time at ’45, the ladder was so long to the belt. But the ’55 ladder, it’s right there. I’m in the mix.”
UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway was hoping to become the promotion’s next two-division champ when he took on Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight title at UFC 236, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Poirier, 30, beat ‘Blessed’ via unanimous decision in the UFC 236 main event, but the fight was by no means a blowout.
Holloway will return to the featherweight division to defend his title against MMA veteran Frankie at UFC 240, but the proud Hawaiian believes he still has what it takes to make a name for himself at lightweight.
Speaking to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn in a recent interview, Holloway said he is still ‘in the mix’ at 155-pounds despite losing in his divisional debut.
“Birds fly, fishes swim, I fight,” Holloway said on Tuesday. “It ain’t nothing. You send me a contract with Daniel Cormier’s name on top tomorrow, you know I’m signing it. ‘DC’ I love you, my man, but I’m a fighter. It is what it is. This is a bump in the road and I can’t wait to get back. ’55 is still there. ’55 there’s a lot of challenges.
“When I lost to Dustin the first time at ’45, the ladder was so long to the belt. But the ’55 ladder, it’s right there. I’m in the mix. If I go up there I feel I’ll be right in the mix with all the top contenders. No disrespect to them, but I think it’s a fun weight class to be. We’ll see what happens.”
Looking back on his loss to ‘The Diamond’, Holloway believes he should have showed more urgency in finishing the fight.
“Nothing really surprised me,” Holloway said. “I knew Dustin was game and he was going to show up to the fight and he did. He did that day. He got the nod and that’s what it is. I ain’t mad. I ain’t mad at him. I ain’t mad at nobody. If I wanted to win the fight I should’ve finished. I couldn’t find myself and fair play to him. He went out there and did his thing and he got the W.”
Holloway’s next bout will take place at UFC 240, where he will defend his FW title against Frankie Edgar on July 27 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.