Max Holloway has been recovering from a thumb surgery since a unanimous-decision win over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 194 in December.
Still in a cast, Holloway (15-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) said his rehab should be finished within six weeks. Barring any hiccups, “Blessed” said he expects an early-summer return to the octagon, and he’s already set his sights on a number of potential opponents.
With the longest active winning streak in the UFC featherweight division at seven, and with an eight consecutive wins overall dating back to 2013, Holloway, No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, wants nothing short of a top contender or a title shot next time out.
Will his wish be fulfilled? Holloway said he’s not sure, mainly because the division is “messed up” due to champion and No. 1-ranked Conor McGregor (19-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) moving up a weight class next month at UFC 196 to challenge lightweight titleholder Rafael dos Anjos for the 155-pound title.
“I’m in a cast right now, and next week I go to take it off, and we’ll find out how much more rehab I need to do,” Holloway told MMAjunkie. “I want to fight late May or June. If I can’t fight then, I want to fight on that big UFC 200 card (in July). We’ll see what happens.
“It’s all kind of messed up right now. There are a lot of things that could happen. With Conor going up, it kind of puts both the divisions on hold. There are Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar. I could see them doing a big fight with me and Frankie, or a big fight with me and Aldo. Why not do a interim belt if Conor gets hurt in his fight? We’ll see what happens. I have no idea where the division is right now.”
Assuming McGregor – win or lose at UFC 196 – returns to featherweight next to defend his title, the most obvious candidate for a title shot is No. 3-ranked Edgar (20-4-1 MMA, 14-4-1 UFC). “The Answer” owns a five-fight winning streak at 145 pounds and earned a first-round knockout of former two-time UFC title challenger and No. 5-ranked Chad Mendes (17-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale in December. Edgar is former UFC lightweight champ and has a strong case for a title shot.
There’s also No.2-ranked Aldo (25-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC). “Scarface” lost the belt to McGregor by first-round knockout at UFC 194. The Brazilian went unbeaten for 10 years prior to the fight and recently made a bold statement claiming he will not accept any bout other than a rematch with McGregor or a title fight.
UFC President Dana White didn’t seem particularly receptive to Aldo’s demands, though, which means he may have to take another fight in the meantime.
“It’s very confusing because a lot of people are saying Frankie deserves a shot, a lot of people are saying Jose Aldo deserves a shot, and then a lot of people are saying I deserve a shot,” Holloway said. “At the end of the day, it comes down to what the UFC wants and what fight makes sense for the UFC. Who is going to put people in seats? I just take it one step at a time. I’m going to take care of my hand and we’ll go from there. I’ll tell Dana and tell (UFC) matchmaker Sean (Shelby) to put our name back in, and we’ll see what names pop up.”
Although Edgar is vocal about wanting a title shot, Holloway’s approach is far more laid-back. That attitude not only comes from his Hawaiian heritage, but also the fact he has time on his side.
Edgar is 34 and has a limited window to fight for a belt while still in his athletic prime. Holloway, on the other hand, is just 24. That said, Holloway made it clear he has no intention of allowing others to skip ahead of him in the title-shot pecking order.
Holloway said he would fight Edgar, Aldo or even a highly ranked fighter like Mendes to solidify himself as the No. 1 contender. Holloway said he feels overlooked in the discussion when it comes to those other names, and once healthy, he wants enter the octagon and prove where he really stands.
“The only thing that matters is if you got a gold belt around your waist, and I don’t got one,” Holloway said. “I’ll fight whoever. I love proving people wrong. People said I’ve fought nobodies, but I disagree with them. But if they want to see me fight Chad or Frankie or Jose or Conor, I’ll fight any four of them any day of the week. Give me a call and let me get ready.
“I’ll show up and prove people wrong again. There’s a lot of talk about how I would get smashed by anyone in front of me right now, but I love to prove all the haters wrong. I’ll go out there and do what I do and pull off the win.”
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