Former UFC featherweight kingpin Max Holloway is feeling the after-effects of a hard-fought 25 minutes against Dustin Poirier.
While the reigning BMF champion has his sights set on a rematch with Ilia Topuria following his UFC 318 win, a hand injury is likely to keep him sidelined through the end of the year.
In a video released via his YouTube channel on Friday, Holloway opened up on the injury:
“Talk about him being strong like a diamond. My right hand still hurts. Big a** head. That’s what I told him after the fight. But, I see a lot of people talking about who’s next, who’s this. Like I said, there’s a lot of fun fights for me at 155.
“Like I said, there’s Oliveira. If Justin gets the next title shot, that would be cool. If I get the next title shot, [that would] be sick, but if you have hopes of me fighting before the end of the year, it’s probably not gonna happen.”
As Holloway went on to explain, he’s already met with his doctor and is scheduled to see a hand specialist later this week.
In the meantime, talk of his next fight is on hold.
Max Holloway Justifies Ilia Topuria Rematch
Following his win over Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway made it clear that he has his sights set on a rematch with Ilia Topuria.
While Holloway, who is currently ranked No. 3 on the UFC.com rankings, is coming off a loss to El Matador, he holds a highlight-reel win over No. 5-ranked Justin Gaethje, who is playing hardball with the UFC in hopes of securing a title fight.
As the BMF champ explained, he has just as much of a claim to a title fight as Gaethje does:
Looking at the Lightweight Title Picture
In the wake of Ilia Topuria’s win over Charles Oliveira, there’s been little clarity on the lightweight title picture.
While Arman Tsarukyan is currently sitting behind only Topuria and Islam Makhachev on the UFC.com rankings, El Matador has shown no interest in the fight.
Instead, the expectation seems to be that either Justin Gaethje or Paddy Pimblett will wind up getting the next crack at the belt.
During a recent live-stream with the Nelk Boys late last month, Topuria said that he’s expecting for the UFC to push for Gaethje, however, after Topuria’s UFC 317 win, White dismissed talk of Gaethje’s title-fight-or-bust ultimatum.
Additionally, the UFC boss indicated that he wasn’t happy with the Topuria-Pimblett staredown that happened inside the Octagon.
With Holloway on the sidelines, and Topuria looking to defend his belt before the end of the year, it’ll be interesting to see how things play out.
Max Holloway Reveals Injury Will Likely Sideline Him Until 2026