Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White put a stop to the rumors of Max Holloway returning soon after dealing with concussion-like symptoms.
Holloway was scheduled to defend his UFC featherweight title against Brian Ortega in the co-main event of UFC 226. The two were going to share the Octagon inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday night (July 7). After two trips to the hospital, Holloway is no longer on the card.
“Blessed” made media rounds and had an open workout session on Wednesday, but he appeared off. Even Michael Bisping made the observation while interviewing Holloway on FOX Sports 1. This is the third straight time Holloway had to pull out of a title bout.
During the UFC 226 pre-fight press conference, White told the media that Holloway won’t be competing anytime soon (via MMAJunkie.com):
“It’s a weird situation. I was just talking to Jeff Novitzky in the back, and there’s a couple of different – some people think it’s concussion-related, some people think it’s weight-cutting related. They haven’t really got down to the bottom of what it is, but according to him, he feels fine. But obviously he’s not fine. So we’re going to continue to try to figure out what’s wrong with Max Holloway. In the meantime, there’s no way this guy’s going to fight anytime soon.”
White revealed that the UFC offered Ortega a fight with Jeremy Stephens, but he turned it down. Frankie Edgar was also willing to fight, but things couldn’t materialize. It’ll be interesting to see what’s next for Holloway and Ortega. If Holloway can’t compete for the remainder of the year, then an interim featherweight title bout is almost certain to take place. MMA News will keep you up to speed on the condition of Max Holloway.
Do you think an interim featherweight title bout is the right call in this situation?
