Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor continues to sit firmly in Max Holloway’s crosshairs.
Holloway, who picked up a unanimous decision win over the surging Arnold Allen earlier this month, recently appeared on MMA Fighting’s “The MMA Hour” and spoke with Ariel Helwani about his next steps. “Blessed” made it clear he plans to stick with 145 pounds, the weight class he once ruled, and work his way toward another shot at reclaiming his throne.
But, he’s also eyeing an eventual move to 155 pounds. And a contest that’s at the top of his list is a rematch with “Notorious,” who Blessed say he’d fight at any weight. McGregor and Holloway competed in 2013 as up-and-coming featherweights, and the Irishman defeated Holloway via unanimous decision. Fast forward a decade and the two have both reached the pinnacle of 145 pounds during their UFC tenure and along with achieving the undisputed lightweight strap, Notorious has become the biggest star in mixed martial arts — and arguably combat sports.
“I would love to fight Conor,” Holloway said. “I was the only guy that took Conor to a decision at ’45. He’s big right now, it should happen. I know he wants to come back. That would be a fight that is super interesting, super fun.
“A lot of questions — there’s a lot of unknowns because we’re just two different fighters from when we [were] back then. I think it would be a fan favorite. I think a lot of fans would love the fight. A lot of fans have been asking for that fight. So, we’ll see what happens.
“At the end of the day, it’s not even a weight thing. Bro, I’d fight him open weight, whatever. Whatever the commission would tell us, show up to the weight, bro. You don’t have to worry, I’d just love to go in there — test him.”
Blessed Is Down to Fight McGregor With ‘UFC 1 Rules’
Holloway reiterated that he doesn’t care what division he and Notorious meet at. In fact, Blessed said he’d be down to battle the Irishman with “UFC 1 rules,” meaning weight would not be a factor.
“Whatever, bro,” Holloway said when asked if he’d fight McGregor at welterweight. “I mean, we’ve got to be close to each other, I guess, because of all this commission stuff. But, we could take it to the UFC 1 rules and we just show up, and we just fight. Why not?”
McGregor is currently preparing to make his UFC return against Michael Chandler later this year and it’s presumed the match will take place at 170 pounds as McGregor has put on a lot of size since his last fight against Dustin Poirier, which happened at lightweight in July 2021.
Holloway’s No. 1 Goal is to Win Back the Featherweight Crown
Blessed made it clear during the UFC on ESPN 44 fight week and while speaking with Helwani that his No. 1 priority is to earn back the crown Alexander Volkanovski took from him.
“The Great” has three decision wins over Holloway. But, Blessed said he’s determined to take out every contender the UFC feeds to him until he receives another crack at gold, whether it be against Volkanovski or interim champion Yair Rodriguez — whoever wins at UFC 290 on July 8.
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Conor McGregor Challenged By Old UFC Foe: ‘Why Not?’