Max Holloway open to lightweight move: ‘I would love to get busy at 155’

Max Holloway returns to action this Saturday (April 15, 2023) at UFC Kansas City against Arnold Allen. It’s an important Featherweight contender match, with the unfortunate caveat that Holloway probably won’t get a 145-pound title shot with a win. That’s because “Blessed” has already fought current champion, Alexander Volkanovski, three times ... and has come up short in every match.

Even then, Holloway believes there’s still a chance he’ll get another bout with “The Great” in the future.

“I feel like if they thought that we couldn’t make it, they probably would have pressed our hand and pressed us hard like, ‘Look, you should go to 155,’” Holloway said during UFC Kansas City media day (via MMA Junkie). “And that wasn’t the case. So, at the end of the day, we get to see. But, 155 is not out of the case. It’s there — it’s always there. I know I can jump there tomorrow if I wanted to, but it’s always great going up with a belt.”

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Holloway’s last go at Lightweight was a April 2019 fight against Dustin Poirier that saw “The Diamond” handle him thoroughly for a 49-46x3 decision. The loss has aged well, though, with Poirier maintaining his position at the very top of the 155-pound division.

“I mean, I would love to fight and get busy and 155,” Holloway said. “Like I said, it’s not that far off, man. I mean, I had a very competitive fight with Poirier in the rematch, and he used to be top three in the world at 155 right now? And then you know Alex did his thing against Islam. Again, styles make fights. We’re proving that like, we’re right there amongst the top.

“So at the end of the day, I don’t know, bro. But I am Polynesian, I’m Samoan-Hawaiian, we love food, so I think gaining weight is not going to be a problem.”

First, Holloway will have to deal with Arnold Allen, who is 19-1 MMA and 10-0 UFC. The tough British prospect has finally managed to stay healthy and is gaining momentum for his own Featherweight title run. This fight against Holloway will not only determine whether he’s ready to compete for gold, but whether Max’s days as a championship contender at 145 pounds are numbered.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC Las Vegas fight card right here, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining main card balance (also on ESPN/ESPN+) at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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