Max Holloway calls for removal from UFC featherweight rankings
UFC 318 headliner Max Holloway tells the UFC to remove him from featherweight rankings ahead of his full-time move to lightweight.
Max Holloway’s days making 145 pounds are done.
The former UFC featherweight champion has decided to firmly plant his flag in the lightweight division after making a couple of pit stops at 155 pounds. At UFC 318 in New Orleans on July 19, Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) returns to the lightweight division for good when he meets Dustin Poirier for a trilogy bout for the BMF title.
“I just figured, ’55 is much funner,” Holloway told MMA Junkie in an interview facilitated by Stake.com. “I get to eat a bunch more, and I just get to do my thing at ’55. So, at the end of the day, it was a no-brainer to stay there. We had unfinished business at ’45, so that’s why we went back down. We here now, and I can’t wait. There’s some fun matchups for us here at ’55, so it’s even more better for me.”
In 2019, Holloway tested the lightweight waters against Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) for a shot at the interim title. After coming up short on the scorecards, Holloway returned to featherweight to defend his title against Frankie Edgar. “Blessed” spent seven more fights at 145 pounds before going back up at UFC 300 to face Justin Gaethje for the BMF title.
After creating a Knockout of the Year moment, Holloway returned to 145 pounds again for a title shot against Ilia Topuria, where he was knocked out himself for the first time. Now, he says there will be no more bouncing back and forth between divisions. He’s a lightweight for good, and wants to be removed from the 145-pound rankings.
“The last two ’55 fights, I had business that I wanted to take care of going back down a weight class, so we went hard and we did it the right way,” Holloway said. “We knew that hey, man, if the weight gotta come off, then the weight gotta come off. … I don’t know what the UFC or, I mean, you guys are the ones who vote on the rankings, right? I don’t know what you guys are thinking keeping me No. 1 contender there, ’cause that’s kind of ridiculous. I’m not going back down to ’45. I’m over it.”
In the latest official UFC rankings, Holloway is the No. 1 contender at featherweight and No. 5 in the lightweight division. His upcoming opponent, Poirier, who will be fighting for the final time, rests one spot behind at No. 6. Holloway doesn’t put too much stock into the official rankings because he notices too many inconsistencies.
“It’s ridiculous,” Holloway said. “I don’t understand. I mean, the rankings period, bro, I don’t get it. The rankings is just all over the place, man. We’ll go back to the Gaethje fight. Gaethje was the No. 1 contender when I fought him at ’55. He was ranked 5 or 4 at the time. I beat him, and the way I beat him, I thought was cool. I felt like things were going my way early in the fight. During the whole fight I felt like I had control of the fight, and then to finish the fight with that point down, and that moment, I thought definitely when the rankings come out, I wouldn’t come out at No. 9. That’s just ridiculous, and the guy was at No. 5 or 4.
“At the end of the day, the rankings, they’re all over the place. When I seen, even with Ilia. Soon as he announced he was coming up, they took him directly out of the damn ’45 one and they left me at No. 1 contender, so I was like, what the hell is going on? At the end of the day, I don’t care. The rankings is cool, the rankings is fun, but how many times do we see where guys who rank at a certain position saying now I’m getting a title shot? It took me 12 fights to get an interim title fight at ’45.”
With a win over Poirier, Holloway believes he could be in position for a title shot, because things aren’t always certain. With Topuria recently claiming the lightweight title, it could make for an interesting rematch in a different weight class. No matter what, Holloway will be ready now that he doesn’t have to struggle to make 145 pounds.
“I have a history with the champion, I have a history with the man who just fought the champion,” Holloway said. “First things first is Dustin Poirier, of course. Rankings doesn’t really mean nothing. Anybody can step up at any time UFC come knocking at your door, you just gotta be ready.”
