If Max Holloway decided to end his career today, he would go out as a HOF fighter in the UFC. Luckily, Blessed is only 32 years of age, and there are plenty of main cards in store for him in the not-so-distant future. Their list of achievements is too long to list all now, but luckily for us, we don't have to. All the data about Max is in the public domain. We will share with you a few insights from the man himself you probably haven't heard before.
Just a few weeks ago, Max Holloway was a guest to Demetrious Johnson in his now-famous MightyCast, a podcast that deals with everything MMA led by one of the HOF UFC fighters in his own right, the Mighty Mouse. The two men covered plenty of ground regarding UFC and Max Holloway's personal life among many other things. Max is coming fresh from a hard defeat at the hands of Ilia Topuria, so before we move on to what Blessed had to say to DJ, let's look at what the future holds for Holloway in his MMA career as seen through our lens.
Holloway's Next Best Fights
Despite the most recent setback at UFC 308 and a defeat in the hands of undefeated Ilia Topuria, Max remains a featherweight legend. Yes, his next fight can't be a title challenge, but there still is room for a maneuver to take him to another fight for the belt. Before he's in a position to make a push at the title, Max will have to change the direction in which he's looking. In the past, Holloway had a massive rivalry with Alexander Volkanovski. Still, the tails of their duels have been put to rest after Volk won all of their three duels. The three-loss streak is not a nice look, so challenging Volkanovski doesn't make much sense. Also, the featherweight division was always looking for the next big thing, and at 32 years of age, Max is no longer that. So, where do his opponents hide?
Well, anyone who wants to hold the BMF title needs to go through Max, and that's what's keeping him super relevant in the UFC. When you know how he won the BMF title you know that the logical next opponent would be Justin Gaethje. Both fighters are now in a similar predicament. A rematch would be fair towards Gaethje, considering how their last match ended. UFC has a say in this, but when you look at the highlights of that fight you know the show these two men provided for the fans. A rematch would be a payday for both Gaethje and Holloway and for Dana White and the UFC.
Considering that Holloway won't be able to hold the BMF title for too long without accepting a challenge, the public keeps guessing who it will be to challenge him. In addition to Justin, two more names often pop up in these conversations. One is a duel with Dustin Poirier. A duel against him would end their fights with another trilogy on the cards for Max, who has a 0-2 score against Dustin. As we said, he already has 0-3 against Volk, so that duel doesn't seem plausible, while Poirier one does sound like it could happen.
The last one, and the longest shot of the three, is possible for Holloway to fight against The Notorious One, Conor McGregor. McGregor is often flirting with an UFC comeback, despite being out of shape, and preoccupied with his business ventures. Yet, Michael Chandler hoped for two years that Conor would fight him, and that duel never came to fruition. It is hard to imagine that he will come out of retirement to fight Max Holloway for the BMF title, but if anyone fits that description that's the Irishman. If you are a fan of online UFC betting you could make a prediction on who Conor McGregor will fight next. Good luck with that bet.
Max vs. McGregor BMF Fight in 2025
During the interview with the Mighty Mouse, DJ, and Blessed touched on this subject. Holloway was honest in his response and answered that he would accept a fight against Conor McGregor. If you have Conor on the card, you have to accept that fight, stated Max. But Max is aware that he has a job to do and that he doesn't have the luxury of waiting two years for a chance at a fight with Conor. But Holloway reiterated that if such a chance popped out, he wouldn't be dumb to turn the opportunity away. A fight like that can change many people's lives, added Max. If there was a date and a contract, why not conclude Holloway.
During the interview with Demetrious, Holloway was more than eager to reminisce on his only duel with the Notorious One remembering that he was one of the rare fighters Conor didn't manage to knock or take down. Max added that their fight could go either way if he didn't hurt his ankle during the bout. What could have been, muses Max?
Holloway vs. Gaethje Recapitulation
When it comes to the BMF title fight, Max remembers it fondly. For Max, it was a good fight that felt good from start to finish. It was a duel for which Max, as he remembers, had to put a lot of weight to fit in the required weight for the division. It was a challenge in its own right as he had to keep his speed and strength while adding mass that usually makes fighters slower. During the MightyCast interview, Max muses how he felt good during all three rounds of the fight and how he felt he won every round despite managing to eventually win via last second knockout.
The Middle of The Octagon Finger Pointing Symbolism
This question will be asked whenever Max is having an interview. DJ didn't hesitate to ask it straight out of the gate. He states that it was all initiated by Gaethje. Holloway was provoked by Justin lifting his hands and commenting to him during the bout. Despite not understanding what Gaethje said, Max takes the fight to him. The meaning of putting to the middle was to show the opponent where to stand and that it's the place where both men can have a go at each other. For Max, it was a decision to show which man is the hardest hitter in the division, who is a dangerous guy, and who is speaking out of turn. It was a moment of revelation for Holloway, and during the interview with Johnson, he speaks of his mindset: " If this is where I die, it is where I die."
How Max Holloway Spends His Free Time
Between all the fights, media responsibilities, training and preparation, MMA fighters do not have too much free time. This soon after his latest fight is a time when fighters such as Max have the most of their free time while rehabbing. Holloway is a guy who is all over the place in this domain. In recent times he wound himself on the Kick.com platform, which is a streaming service where Blessed is an active member. Holloway claims that he is a big fan of streaming. It's awesome, a lot of fun, and it helped me make many new friends, claims Holloway. Interaction with fans is a lot of fun for Max, whether speaking with those who love him or putting haters in their place.
Furthermore, Holloway is a massive fan of both gambling and gaming. Recently he has become one of the leading faces of sports betting outlet Stake. From the game she enjoys the most, Holloway singles out slot machines that he enjoys playing supported by his fans who support him when he wins and comfort him when he loses. When he's not gambling, Max is a mainstay playing Apex and streaming his live sessions. Due to his super competitive nature, Max says that he plays the game for hours. In the end, Holloway muses about his fans who follow his every step and cautions them to gamble responsibly and within their means, just like he does.
For all of you who want to stay in touch with Max, he is active on multiple platforms. Those who want to see him streaming can do so on Kick, while he's also active on his YouTube channel, Instagram, and, of course, the X platform.
Holloway's Future Plans
The interview with Demetrious Johnson was one where Holloway opened up completely without holding anything back. As far as his UFC future goes, Max is very clear about what he wants. Blessed remembers that in the past he was aiming at a fight against Khabib. That duel never happened, and it remains a desire of Max's that he still has. Due to that fact, Holloway is open about the fact that they want to take on Khabib 2.0. Islam Makhachev is the fighter people call Khabib 2.0, and he's the one Holloway wants to take on in the future.
It was a fight that Islam avoided, claiming that Max was not up to it. Now, the tides have changed slightly, as Islam said he will take on Holloway's challenge if he wins against Ilia Topuria. For Max, that was all he needed. Unfortunately, Max failed to win against Topuria, as the Georgian-Spanish fighter was too challenging and remained one of the top strikers in the UFC, taking Holloway at UFC 308. After this defeat, the doors to fighting Islam Makhachev are closed for now, but it remains a future goal for Holloway.
Max vs. Kids
No, we're not talking about fighting kids but about raising them. During the interview with Mighty Mouse, Max touched on the challenge of raising kids, stating that things are way different now than they were back in the day. He's not even able to help his kid with simple math tasks, as while he knows the solution, the path to it differs today from what he learned in school.
Furthermore, he explained the lessons he teaches his son about the importance of making friends and making a difference between those befriending you for who you are and those who do so because your father is a UFC superstar. Holloway mused on the transience of life, remembering that he had just only signed his first UFC contract on the day his son was born and that, in the meantime, he had won an interim featherweight title and unified it with the title itself and later won the BFM belt. In contrast, his son reached the 8th grade in that period.
Holloway vs. Oliveira Possibility?
We have listed a few possible matches on Maxx Holloway's card. Still, one we didn't mention is one Max would give a chance if the opportunity arises. As far as challengers for the BMF title are concerned, Blessed would love to have Charles Oliveira fighting him. It was an idea pitched by Oliveira, who, after hearing that Holloway is planning a permanent return to the lightweight division, stated that he wants to challenge Max for the BMF belt. The two men have one duel between them and that one was won by Max back in 2015. If a rematch is accepted by UFC, Max would be the one to take it too, out of respect for what Oliveira did for the sport was said during his speech at MightyCast.
Summary
Here, you had a sneak peek at both the past and the future of Max Holloway. A great fighter and an even better interviewer. Max was never one to shy away from sharing thoughts and standing behind his words. As such, man, we can't wait for his next UFC bout. As for now, Max should rest, and we're sure that whoever is his next opponent is going to have a never more motivated Holloway across from him.
