Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White pushed for Max Holloway to move up to lightweight, but after UFC 236 he is changing his tone.
Holloway took on Dustin Poirier for the interim UFC lightweight championship. “Blessed” fought hard, but the pressure of Poirier was too much and he dropped a unanimous decision. Holloway remains the featherweight title holder and White is hoping that “Blessed” returns to 145 pounds next.
White Wants Holloway Back At 145 Pounds
White spoke to reporters following the UFC 236 card. He explained why he’s changing his tone on Holloway’s weight class going forward (via MMAJunkie.com):
“It’s crazy, what I didn’t expect is he looked small at 155. So I look forward to him going back to 145. We took him straight from the octagon to the hospital. I told my guys, ‘I don’t want him doing any interviews. Take him straight to the hospital.’ He’s tough, he’s awesome, but I’d like to see him at 145 pounds again. Poirier looked much bigger than him in my opinion.”
Holloway certainly isn’t short on contenders. Alexander Volkanovski is set to go one-on-one with Jose Aldo. If Volkanovski wins, a title bout seems inevitable. There’s also Frankie Edgar, someone Holloway was scheduled to face back in March 2018 but couldn’t due to an injury. Renato Moicano also looms and despite suffering a loss to Jose Aldo, he’d be a fresh contender for “Blessed.”
Do you want Max Holloway to return to featherweight to defend his gold?
