UFC featherweight contender Max Holloway is setting his sights on lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.
This upcoming Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, ‘Blessed’ will enter the cage once again. Returning for the first time since his knockout victory over Justin Gaethje in April at UFC 300, Max Holloway will face Ilia Topuria. Meanwhile, ‘El Matador’ claimed the featherweight title with an impressive win over Alexander Volkanovski in February.
In a recent interview with Demetrious Johnson, Max Holloway talked about his upcoming UFC 308 title fight. He was asked about his decision to return to featherweight after defeating ‘The Highlight’ earlier this year. Holloway revealed that his move back to the 145-pound division might not be permanent.
During the interview, Max Holloway expressed interest in a potential fight with lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. While Holloway was keen on facing the Russian fighter after his victory in April, Makhachev was initially hesitant. However, Makhachev has since changed his stance, indicating that he would be open to fighting Holloway if he emerges victorious on Saturday.
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Max Holloway hints at a future matchup against Islam Makhachev ahead of UFC 308 return
During the interview, the featherweight fighter mentioned the possibility of facing Islam Makhachev next year. For Max Holloway, a potential bout with the lightweight champion would be as close as he could get to a hypothetical matchup with Khabib Nurmagomedov. The Hawaiian fighter was famously scheduled to fight ‘The Eagle’ in April 2018 but had to withdraw on weigh-in day.
“You have to do great things,” said Max Holloway in the interview ahead of his UFC 308 comeback. “We had that fight booked with Khabib a while back, and Islam is like Khabib 2.0. So I want all the taste, I want all the smoke. It would be an honor to fight that guy, as I’m trying to etch my name into the history books. But like you said, first things first, Ilia.”
He went on to say, “But if I had my choice, why not? Why not be able to fight Islam? Islam never wanted to fight me even when I was saying I was coming up to 155 after fighting [Justin Gaethje], the guy he was supposed to fight next. He kept saying ‘I don’t know why I’d fight him’. But recently, his tone changed… Okay, that’s all we needed. We just needed that little crack in the door, brother.”
What are your thoughts on these statements from the UFC featherweight legend? Are you excited about a potential matchup between Max Holloway and Islam Makhachev?
