Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway may have just propelled himself into a third title fight with Alexander Volkanovski.
After his Fight of the Night war with Yair Rodriguez (13-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 197 on Saturday, Holloway (23-6 MMA, 19-6 UFC) didn’t rule out the possibility of another title shot, but also let it be known there are a few directions he could go for his next outing, with a number of rematch possibilities.
“We’ll see what happens,” Holloway told Michael Bisping during his post-fight interview. “There’s Hunter (Campbell), there’s Shawn (Shelby) right there. That’s their damn jobs. I have a win over the 155-pound champion, we have Alex and stuff, I’m on the shortlist for Conor McGregor – tell him to hit my line. We ready whenever.”
When asked to clarify which of those options he wanted most, Holloway deflected by stating, “To be the best you gotta beat the best, and the best is ‘Blessed.’ They gotta come after me, baby.”
Nothing but respect from @BlessedMMA to @PanteraUFC 🤝 #UFCVegas42 pic.twitter.com/rtvTIndum5
— UFC (@ufc) November 13, 2021
Holloway also had his share of praise for Rodriguez, who made for a tough fight at the UFC Apex, pushing him hard through five rounds. Holloway ate a number of stiff strikes from his opponent but kept pushing forward in his typical fashion.
“His boxing is pretty good,” Holloway said. “He moved like a boxer and then he’d turn elbows. I was like, ‘That’s illegal in boxing, my man!’ But fair game to him, this guy’s a freakin’ beast, that’s why I wanted to fight him.”
Time will tell what’s next for Holloway, but for now, he walks away with another main event victory and a fight night bonus to go along with it.
