Max Holloway says he’s still ‘in the mix’ at lightweight despite return to featherweight
Max Holloway is set to defend his featherweight title at UFC 240 in Edmonton, Alberta when he takes on Frankie Edgar. However, for a rare instance, Holloway is coming off of a loss, but it was at lightweight against Dustin Poirier.
Although Holloway lost at lightweight, he still believes he will be back at 155-pounds, given the ladder to the top is not as long as many think.
“Birds fly, fishes swim, I fight,” Holloway told MMA Junkie 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.”
Many may be surprised by those comments given even UFC President, Dana White said Holloway looked small and would like him to go back down to featherweight. However, the featherweight champ says it is on him to make the adjustments and find a way to win, which he didn’t do against Poirier.
“The adjusting, whatever, I’m a fighter,” Holloway said. “If they called me up to fight tomorrow, I’ll fight tomorrow. That’s what I do. I got no excuses. I ain’t taking nothing away from Dustin. You guys will see. The next time I’m at ’55, the next time we at ’70, 185 – whatever weight class I choose to do (you will see).”
Now, coming off of a loss, Holloway is ready to start another winning streak.
“The Blessed Express is still full steam ahead,” Holloway said. “You guys better stay buckled on because the seats is overfilling. You guys better hold on tight because if anybody ever went to Japan they have this bullet train. The Blessed Express is coming 10 times faster.”
Sound off. Let us know on social media if you think Max Holloway will be back at lightweight.
