Max Holloway is acknowledging Charles Oliveira's evolution as a fighter ahead of their BMF title fight at UFC 326. Nate Diaz has also expressed interest in fighting the winner of the bout, which takes place March 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Holloway and Oliveira, both UFC lightweights, are set to headline UFC 326 for the BMF title. Their first fight in 2015 ended with an Oliveira shoulder injury at 1:39 of the first round. Oliveira has since claimed he was "just a boy" during that initial encounter.
In episode 4 of his BMF Champ Champ series on YouTube, Holloway addressed Oliveira's claim, noting they were both early in their careers at ages 23 and 25. Max Holloway said:
"Oliveira is just a killer, you know? His striking came a long way and if you see most of his finishes, a lot of the times it's not hail-Mary submissions that he's finishing people with.
He's a real mixed martial artist, I saw an interview where he said the first time we fought he was jiu-jitsu Oliveira, now he's MMA Oliveira and I respect that, I agree with that, come March 7, though, we get to find out everything. Oliveira is Oliveira."
Nate Diaz has declared his interest in returning to the promotion to take on the UFC 326 main event winner, predicting that Holloway will win. If Holloway (fighting out of Gracie Technics) is successful at UFC 326, he could become the first fighter to successfully defend the BMF title.
