Max Holloway has seized the mantle as the most dominant featherweight in the world with his string of 14 consecutive victories in the division. Because of his dominance at 145, Holloway set his eye on other goals, including becoming a two-division champion by winning the lightweight championship. Holloway aimed to take the first step towards this goal at UFC 226 when he faced Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight championship, but Poirier got the better of Holloway, taking home the unanimous decision nod. UFC President Dana White considers Holloway’s performance and size disadvantage to be all the proof needed that Holloway does not belong in the lightweight division (Transcript via BJPenn.com):
“I think his last performance at ’55 ends the conversation of him going up to ’55,” White said at the UFC 240 post-fight press conference. “I used to think that he looked big at ’45 and then I realized how small he looked at ’55.”
When told about Dana White’s comments, Max Holloway brushed his boss’s comments aside, believing that they have no real bearings on the future:
“Dana changes his mind everyday. Tomorrow he might be like, ‘hey Max we need a heavyweight fight.’ So, I don’t know. Dana’s mind is all over the place. I gotta respect the boss, but at the end of the day it is what it is. I know if an opportunity comes up there and they come calling, we won’t shy away.”
Max Holloway was once again successful at featherweight this past weekend when he defeated Frankie Edgar via unanimous decision at UFC 240 to retain his featherweight championship. Holloway has not lost a fight at featherweight since 2013 to some dude named Conor McGregor.
Do you believe Max Holloway can become a champion up at 155?
