UFC featherweight champion, Max Holloway, is hoping to fight #1 contender, Brian Ortega, sometime this summer.
The hold-up in scheduling the bout, however, is the status of the ankle injury which forced Holloway out of UFC 222. He spoke with UFC.com recently and updated the status of his injury and commented on potentially fighting a dangerous new challenger to his belt. He hopes to be back in the cage in July or August but that will be up to doctors not him.
As Holloway explains, it wasn’t him that pulled out of UFC 222 but rather doctors removed him from the card.
“I tried everything in my power, in my will, to try and get that fight going,” said Holloway. “I didn’t pull from the fight; the docs pulled me. I don’t think people understand – I tried everything. I was asking, ‘How ‘bout we do this? Do this?’ and they kept telling me no.
“I was trying to figure out any possible way to get me in there and the docs have the last call and they said it was a no go.”
Max Holloway on Fighting Brian Ortega
In Holloways absence at UFC 222, Brian Ortega put the division on notice by becoming the first person to finish Frankie Edgar. Holloway knows he’ll have his hands full when he and Ortega are on opposing sides in the octagon.
“The fight is on; me and him are fighting each other,” Holloway said of Ortega. “Everyone saw the video of him talking to Dana White and I’ve talked to Dana White and it’s pretty clear that me and him are fighting.”
Holloway continued to say Ortega represents a dangerous threat to his title.
“The man is dangerous. Everybody keeps talking about his jiu-jitsu and how he’s stopping guys there and he’s got a couple finishes on his feet, so I’m excited.”
