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Max Holloway Reaches Definitive Decision On His Next Step After UFC 308 Title Loss

There has been plenty of speculation on what Max Holloway’s next move will be following his loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308. And now, Holloway has revealed his decision — and it’s speculation that most expected. In a new video on his YouTube channel, the former 145-pound kingpin officially confirmed his decision to move […]

Continue Reading Max Holloway Reaches Definitive Decision On His Next Step After UFC 308 Title Loss at MMA News.

In a new video on his YouTube channel, the former 145-pound kingpin officially confirmed his decision to move up to lightweight.

“155 (pounds) here we come, and 155 is where I want to stay,” Holloway said. “This is a new chapter. This is where we start. This is where we begin. I cannot wait.”

Max Holloway Announces Move To Lightweight, Doubts He’ll Compete At Featherweight Ever Again

While Holloway’s boxing was on full display in his bout with Topuria, the champ’s aggressiveness and power led him to become the first fighter to knock “Blessed” out. The Hawaiian is neither holding any negative feelings nor making excuses, knowing how long he’s been at the top at 145 pounds.

It was Holloway’s third unsuccessful challenge to regain the featherweight strap after already losing twice in rematches with the man who snatched the belt from him at UFC 245 in 2019, Alexander Volkanovski.

Volkanovski and Topuria are the only fighters to have beaten Holloway since his long featherweight winning streak that ran between 2013 and 2019. However, with Holloway likely far from another featherweight title shot, the logical choice is to move up.

“I can honestly look you guys in the eye and tell you guys, I’m probably not ever going back to ’45,” Holloway said. “I love what I did. I did what I did. I did what I had to do there. I worked my way back, I clawed my back to the championship fight multiple times there. I was a champion. I defended at that weight.

“Now it’s time to move on to the next chapter, and (at) 155 there’s a bunch of fun fights that I cannot wait to take.”

Holloway’s decision now opens up a variety of potential options for opponents, including Charles Oliveira, Michael Chandler, Dan Hooker and champion Islam Makhachev. Rematches with Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier — who is expected to retire after one or two more fights in 2025 — are in the mix as well.

“Blessed” has fought twice at lightweight previously, losing to Poirier in an interim title match at UFC 236 and famously defeating Gaethje for the BMF title at UFC 300 earlier this year.

Read More: UFC Fight Night: Brandon Moreno vs. Amir Albazi Live Results & Highlights

Continue Reading Max Holloway Reaches Definitive Decision On His Next Step After UFC 308 Title Loss at MMA News.

Video: Max Holloway Moving to UFC Lightweight Division After KO Loss vs. Ilia Topuria

Max Holloway is ready to take on a new challenge. The UFC Fighter announced on his YouTube Channel that he will be leaving the featherweight division and…

Max Holloway’s Next Chapter? UFC Legend Bisping Weighs In After Holloway’s Defeat

Michael Bisping thinks there are plenty of options left for Max Holloway. All of them just happened to be…

Michael Bisping thinks there are plenty of options left for Max Holloway. All of them just happened to be in the lightweight division.

After suffering the first knockout loss of his career against reigning featherweight world champion Ilia Topuria, Holloway’s future is uncertain.

Fortunately, ‘Blessed’ has plenty of time to figure out what’s next as he’s still only 32 years old, but another run with the 145-pound title is probably out of the question at this point.

“The time is done, that ship has sailed, move on,” Bisping said of Holloway’s featherweight title aspirations on his Believe You Me podcast. “You’re getting older, the weight cut’s tougher. You’ve had a couple of losses, you almost became the champion again, you looked incredible against Justin Gaethje, you took his shots, you knocked him out cold” (h/t MMA Knockout on SI).

Bisping sees rematches aplenty for max holloway at lightweight

On the other hand, Bisping does believe there are some big-money fights for ‘Blessed’ at 155.

“There’s a lot of fun fights for him at 155 pounds,” Bisping continued. There’s Dan Hooker, there’s Poirier, there’s Gaethje, Charles Oliviera, which by the way, them three would all be rematches, which is wild.

Already holding victories over Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje and having gone toe-to-toe with Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight title in 2019, there are a few high-profile rematches to be had in the lightweight division and one big win in the division would likely put ‘Blessed’ immediately into the title mix.

A pairing against No. 5 ranked contender Dan Hooker would also present a fresh and exciting matchup worthy of determining the division’s next man in line for a shot at Islam Makhachev.

Is a move to 155 the logical next step for the reigning BMF titleholder?

“Just Retire It. End It.” Ariel Helwani Slams BMF Belt Calling for Its End

Ariel Helwani thinks it’s time for the UFC to retire the BMF title. Introduced in 2019, the bragging rights…

Ariel Helwani thinks it’s time for the UFC to retire the BMF title.

Introduced in 2019, the bragging rights belt was established to give Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz something to fight for when the two fan favorites headlined UFC 244 in Madison Square Garden. ‘Gamebred’ ended up winning the title via a third-round doctor’s stoppage TKO.

Since then, the belt has found its way around the waist of both Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway in 2024, but Helwani thinks the UFC should have done away with the gimmick immediately after it was wrapped around Masvidal’s waist.

The BMF title is an absolute mess. Just retire it. End it. pic.twitter.com/cssCd4oPfg

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 30, 2024

”He [Usman] was the king of the welterweights and the people who were fighting for the BMF title weren’t in title contention just yet and so if you can’t be a champion there, you could create your own belt and this has been the issue that I’ve always had with the BMF title,” Helwani said on his show.

“If I’m Islam Makhachev and you are touting Max Holloway is the baddest motherf**ker on the planet, I’m like, ‘Yo, this is my weight class, you won to fight in, I’m the baddest guy on the planet, I’m the baddest MFer at 155,’ that’s what the belt should recognize… Not some like secondary division within the division… It should have ended with the Masvidal fight in MSG.”

No Reigning BMF champion has ever won a fight inside the octagon

Masvidal went on to lose four straight fights inside the Octagon before walking away from the promotion last year. The promotion then reintroduced the title at UFC 291 for a long-awaited rematch between Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.

‘The Highlight’ ended up winning the fight and the title via a stunning second-round head-kick KO but handed it over to Max Holloway nine months later at UFC 300 when ‘Blessed’ scored an insane buzzer-beating knockout against the lightweight contender.

Holloway recently returned to the Octagon at UFC 308, not to defend the BMF belt, but to try and add another piece of hardware to his collection. ‘Blessed’ squared off with featherweight king Ilia Topuria and ended up suffering the first knockout loss of his illustrious career.

Interestingly, no BMF titleholder has ever won a fight inside the Octagon. Masvidal, Gaethje, and Holloway all went a combined 0-6 after laying claim to the fictitious title.

Maybe Helwani is onto something.

“Just Retire It. End It.” Ariel Helwani Slams BMF Belt Calling for Its End

Ariel Helwani thinks it’s time for the UFC to retire the BMF title. Introduced in 2019, the bragging rights…

Ariel Helwani thinks it’s time for the UFC to retire the BMF title.

The BMF title is an absolute mess. Just retire it. End it. pic.twitter.com/cssCd4oPfg

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) October 30, 2024

”He [Usman] was the king of the welterweights and the people who were fighting for the BMF title weren’t in title contention just yet and so if you can’t be a champion there, you could create your own belt and this has been the issue that I’ve always had with the BMF title,” Helwani said on his show.

“If I’m Islam Makhachev and you are touting Max Holloway is the baddest motherf**ker on the planet, I’m like, ‘Yo, this is my weight class, you won to fight in, I’m the baddest guy on the planet, I’m the baddest MFer at 155,’ that’s what the belt should recognize… Not some like secondary division within the division… It should have ended with the Masvidal fight in MSG.”

No Reigning BMF champion has ever won a fight inside the octagon

Interestingly, no BMF titleholder has ever won a fight inside the Octagon. Masvidal, Gaethje, and Holloway all went a combined 0-6 after laying claim to the fictitious title.

Maybe Helwani is onto something.

Max Holloway Addresses His Future After Suffering First Knockout At UFC 308

Though he had a strong performance against Ilia Topuria, Max Holloway’s efforts were not enough. He was knocked out for the first time in his professional career as Ilia Topuria retained the featherweight championship in the main event of UFC 308. Holloway appeared to be performing well, getting into his groove late in the first […]

Continue Reading Max Holloway Addresses His Future After Suffering First Knockout At UFC 308 at MMA News.

Holloway appeared to be performing well, getting into his groove late in the first round and trying to keep distance to land counterstrikes and combinations. But the former champ was caught in the third round, eating a flurry and being dropped by a right hand.

“It is what it is, I felt good,” Holloway said during his UFC 308 post-fight press conference. “Showing off my hands, I was landing, I was being fast, I think I had him surprised in there. Like I said, I was doing good until I wasn’t.

“Game of inches. He landed something that I found myself looking up from the ground.”

Max Holloway Mulling Over Potential Full-Time Move To Lightweight After UFC 308 Setback

Holloway originally became undisputed featherweight champion with a TKO of José Aldo at UFC 212. He retained the title against the Brazilian legend, Brian Ortega, and Frankie Edgar before losing to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 245.

Since then, Holloway has rematched Volkanovski for the title twice, losing both times. UFC 308 marked the third time “Blessed” has unsuccessfully attempted to win back the 145-pound UFC gold. However, those are his only losses at the weight class since becoming the champion.

So what could be next for Holloway? He isn’t ruling out, and is even thinking hard about, a potential move up in weight class given the potential fights that could happen there. But the Hawaiian said he’s not looking to fight again until the middle of 2025, and so there is time to think things over in full.

“We’ll sit down with the team, relax, there’s nothing needed to be rushing back right now,” Holloway said. “[I’ll] probably try to come back summer, big July card in Vegas, do something, see what happens. [Lightweight] looks really good right now.

“I had a couple of times to reclaim [the featherweight title], new guys coming up, that would be fun, but I think ’55 looks more fun…”

Holloway earned the title shot against Topuria through his famed knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 earlier this year, which gave him the BMF belt.

“Blessed” fought at lightweight in the UFC just once prior to that, losing an interim title fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 236.

Read More: Ilia Topuria Declares Himself The New ‘BMF’ Champ After Max Holloway Win

Continue Reading Max Holloway Addresses His Future After Suffering First Knockout At UFC 308 at MMA News.