Max Holloway began his journey in the lightweight division with UFC 300, as he shocked the entire world with a last-second KO win over Justin Gaethje. He claimed the BMF belt and received $600K via performance bonuses. His last fight against Ilia Topuria seemingly made his move to lightweight a permanent one. But the UFC rankings still have him as the #1 featherweight contender.
During a recent conversation with Mike Bohn, Holloway lashed out at the rankings system. He said, “I don’t know what you guys are thinking and keeping me the number one contender there because that’s ridiculous. I’m not going back to 45. I’m over it. It feels good. It feels great, man. Just being able to… Certain days when you go harder and being able to recover good with meal, eating a little bit more protein, putting a little bit more supplements in me is much more better than just toughening it out. At the end of the day, without that in the back of my mind, it’s a great feeling.”
Now, it seems like his call has been heard by Dana White and Co. John Morgan took to X and revealed a message from the Hawaiian star. The MMA journalist stated, “Message received from Max Holloway. After “Blessed” said he was done with the featherweight division, the official UFC rankings committee did pull him from the eligible pool of athletes at 145 pounds, so expect at least one new name in rankings in tomorrow’s update.”
Message received from Max Holloway.
After “Blessed” said he was done with the featherweight division, the official UFC rankings committee did pull him from the eligible pool of athletes at 145 pounds, so expect at least one new name in rankings in tomorrow’s update. pic.twitter.com/pnAZKlFcmY
— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) July 13, 2025
Holloway is pretty confident about his upcoming trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier. But what does he plan to do after a win over ‘The Diamond’? Well, he believes a fight for the lightweight championship belt might be the next big thing for him. And the venue might be White House.
Max Holloway weighs in on a possible fight at UFC White House
Right now, Max Holloway is set to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 318, with the BMF title on the line. And he has been vocal about wanting to create a moment that would excite the entire fanbase. According to him, a crazy performance against ‘The Diamond’ in his last dance would likely get him a shot at the lightweight championship title in 2026. And that might come at UFC White House.
During the conversation with Bohn, ‘Blessed’ got to know that the betting odds for him getting a fight at UFC White House were higher than other prospects. As per Bohn, Holloway was only second to Poirier. And with the Lafayette resident’s retirement after UFC 318, Holloway should get a bout with +300 odds in his favor.
‘Blessed’ was pleased with the odds. And that made him quite dreamy about performance bonuses at the White House. He said, “Getting to be able to do that would be huge, man, you know. And then hopefully, they do something like, maybe, the bonus is like you don’t pay taxes or something, for a pay-per-view, right? Instead of taking money, just be like, ‘Yeah, no taxes for this year for the Performance of the Night winner, bro. H— yeah, please.”
But first, he needs to secure a win over Poirier. After all, he has already lost twice against ‘The Diamond’. But can he actually defeat the former lightweight interim champion and defend his BMF belt? Sound off in the comments.
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