Getty Max Holloway
Former 145-pound kingpin Max Holloway has every intention to make the move to lightweight at some point in his UFC career.
Holloway started his 24-7 professional mixed martial arts career as a 155-pounder and has ventured north of 145 pounds once as an Octagon athlete. Blessed fought Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight strap at UFC 236 in 2019 when he held the featherweight belt, and he lost to “The Diamond” via unanimous decision in what turned out to be a “Fight of the Year” candidate.
At 30 years old and with three losses to the current 145-pound champion Alexander Volkanovski, a weight class change seemed like a likely option for Holloway after his trilogy bout with “The Great” in July. But, he decided to stay at featherweight.
And the now 31-year-old combatant picked up a unanimous decision victory over top-ranked contender Arnold Allen earlier this month. When speaking with Ariel Helwani on MMA Fighting’s “The MMA Hour” this Monday, Holloway said that the promotion never pushed him to make a divisional move.
“I think if UFC really wanted it at ‘55, they would’ve pushed the issue,” Holloway said. “They really didn’t, so at the end of the day, we’re here.
“It’s always good to go up a weight class with a belt, so that’s the plan. And if they thought so — that maybe we couldn’t do a fourth [fight] with Volk — I think they would’ve really pressed the issue on us and told us, ‘Look, you’ve got to go.’ But we’re here, they’re feeding me contenders. So at the end of the day, we’re going to just keep knocking them down.”
Holloway Said It’s ‘100 Percent’ Likely He’ll Move to 155 Pounds at Some Juncture
Blessed confirmed that lightweight was in his future. But, he has his eyes firmly set on the International Fight Week title unification bout between Volkanovski and interim champion Yair Rodriguez. They’ll battle at UFC 290 on July 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“One-hundred percent [it’ll happen],” Holloway said about 155 pounds. “Why not? I mean, why not? We’ll see what happens with [Volkanovski] when they’re fighting in July now with Yair. I think a lot of people are counting out Yair.
“I think it’s going to be a much more interesting fight than a lot of people think it is. We get to be a fan that night, so I’m excited.”
As mentioned, Holloway has met Volkanovski three times in the UFC. However, he’s lost every fight by decision. On the other end, Blessed and Rodriguez fought in 2021 and Holloway earned the judges’ unanimous nod.
Holloway Has Continued to Not Give an Official Prediction for Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez
Blessed was asked several times during the UFC on ESPN 44 fight week for his prediction pertaining to Volkanovski versus Rodriguez. However, he remained neutral. And that didn’t change when Helwani asked him about the title tilt.
“I think both of them can win. Yair is a shifty dude, bro,” Blessed said. “They’re both weird dudes. It’s hard to fight someone like Alex. You can’t get training partners like Alex. That dude is build like The Thing [from Marvel’s Fantastic Four] and he’s just a freaking monster. And then Yair, it’s hard to get guys like Yair — guys who can be right in your face and then just throw a high kick, then throw something spinning, throw unorthodox, and a super fast guy.
“So at the end of the day, I think so — I think the fight is going to be a lot more interesting than what people think it is.”