Max Holloway is among the UFC’s hottest fighters and cemented a legacy as one of many best featherweight fighters of all-time. His time as a featherweight is at an in depth, nevertheless, as Holloway introduced on his YouTube channel that he’s making a full-time transfer to the light-weight division.
The information comes on the heels of Holloway struggling a TKO loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 in a bid to regain the 145-pound championship. The combat with Topuria was additionally the primary time Holloway had been stopped in his skilled profession — and the primary time he had ever suffered a knockdown.
“That is like my phoenix second, from the ashes we’re reborn,” Holloway mentioned. “We’re on to larger, higher stuff and strolling by way of a brand new door and beginning a brand new chapter. I am a giant believer in by no means say by no means, and the massive query now’s, ‘Was that your final combat at 145?’ You guys noticed me contact upon it within the press convention, and I can truthfully say I feel I am executed with 145. Your boy is barely getting older.”
Holloway, who will flip 33 on Dec. 4, mentioned he had no drawback along with his weight minimize for the Topuria combat, however is trying ahead to not quit sure meals throughout combat camps now that he’ll be campaigning at 155 kilos.
“I had to surrender ramen for my [145-pound] camps,” Holloway mentioned. “I am executed with that — I do not ever need to quit ramen once more. 155, right here we come and 155 is the place I need to keep. This can be a new chapter. That is the place we begin. That is the place we start. I can not wait. … I can truthfully look you guys within the eye and let you know guys I am most likely not ever going again to 145.”
Holloway gained the interim featherweight championship at UFC 206 in December 2016 with a TKO win over Antony Pettis. He adopted that up with a June 2017 TKO win over then-champion Jose Aldo to unify the titles.
Holloway would make three defenses of the belt, shedding as soon as throughout that stretch in a bid to win the interim light-weight title towards Dustin Poirier in April 2019.
Alexander Volkanovski gained the title from Holloway in December 2019 and would win two rematches with Holloway after. Regardless of the losses to Volkanovski, Holloway remained related within the division by consistently beating different high challengers and eventually bought one other crack on the belt as soon as Topuria took the strap from Volkanovski.
“I like what I did,” Holloway mentioned of his time within the featherweight division. “I did what I did. I did what I needed to do there. I labored my manner again, I clawed my again to the championship combat a number of occasions there. I used to be a champion. I defended at that weight. Now it is time to transfer on to the subsequent chapter, and 155 there is a bunch of enjoyable fights that I can not wait to take.”
Holloway’s most up-to-date win got here at light-weight, when he defeated Justin Gaethje in a bout for the ceremonial “BMF” championship, knocking out Gaethje within the literal last second of their five-round combat.
There are many huge names at 155 and Holloway will probably be trying to make a splash in some marquee fights in his new division.
