Vid UFC 218 kommer Max Holloway att ta sig an utmanaren Frankie Edgar i en match om fjäderviktstiteln. En fight som många tror kan bli än mer betydelsefull än Holloways seger över Jose Aldo denna vår då amerikanen erövrade fjäderviktsbältet. Under tiden UFC-ikonen Conor McGregor befann sig i fjäderviktsdivisionen var det många som anklagade irländaren för att ducka just Edgar. Dock verkar det nu, om man ska tro Holloway själv, som att UFC egentligen hade andra planer för fjäderviktsmästaren.
Under Holloways nyliga kontraktsförhandlingar tillfrågades han av tävlingsorganisationen om han hade något intresse av att går upp till lättvikt och utmana divisionens mästare Conor McGregor. Vid ett nyligt avsnitt av The MMA Hour hade Holloway följande att säga:
If [the fight with Conor McGregor] happens, it happens. He said 155. When we were talking about the contract, UFC came to me and they were talking about 155. They also talked to me about Conor a little bit. They were asking me about it and then they came to me with the Frankie [Edgar] fight and it was weird. We got the Frankie fight, like I said, I wanted this a year ago. Now, we got to fight Frankie, he’s got the fight now. When we were talking about the contract they said, ‘What about [155] would you go up there?’ Then they asked about Conor. If they wanted me to go up there and fight him, I’d fight him any day. They kept talking about it, but at the end of the day Frankie was the one.
Everyone keeps saying, ‘[Conor McGregor would] murder you now’ and I’m like, ‘That’s cool, that’s your opinion.’ People keep saying, ‘Max, you’re not the money fight’, and I’m like, ‘Perfect, you’re proving me right. This guy is fighting exhibition matches, of course I’m not the money fight.’ There are levels to being a champion. I’ve said it before, the casuals don’t really know about [Demetrious Johnson]. If a guy just came in and started watching UFC, they see Conor walking with his two belts and then they see DJ, you know, the greatest of all time. Does DJ walk around with ten belts? No, he walks around with one of his belts – that one belt. He doesn’t walk around with ten of his belts, but champ life is hard for people sometimes. They don’t want to take it on.
Många skulle onekligen bli exalterade av ett möte mellan fjäderviktsmästaren och lättviktsmästaren. Det skulle isåfall påminna om hur McGregor hoppade upp till lättvikt vid UFC 205 där han besegrade Eddie Alvarez och vann lättviktsbältet. I nuläget ser det ut som att Tony Ferguson kommer att bli den näste att utmana McGregor om titeln. Men vem vet om ett möte mellan Holloway och McGregor skulle kunna bli verklighet i framtiden.
