Max Holloway may be shelved until 2026.
Holloway is fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Dustin Poirier in “The Diamond’s” retirement fight. “Blessed” outstruck his opponent throughout the bout and it earned him a bounce back win after suffering his first knockout defeat to Ilia Topuria.
Still, Holloway didn’t walk out of New Orleans unscathed. In a video posted on his YouTube channel, the former UFC Featherweight Champion revealed he has an injury that will cost him some time (via MMAFighting).
“I get to be a fan a little bit,” Holloway explained. “[I get to] be a father. … I’m excited for the future, but what’s next? I couldn’t tell you. Now this stupid injury pushed me back a little bit, so we don’t know what’s going to happen.
“But even if I didn’t have this injury, the talks is wild. At the end of the day [fans are saying]… a lot of people are saying me and Ilia don’t make sense because my last fight before this one was Ilia, and he did what he did to me, right? But then how do you make a case for someone that I fought — I know he didn’t fight Ilia, but I fought him — I did what I did to him, and he’s going to fight next for the title after just winning one [fight]. Because most of you guys don’t know what you’re talking about. Most of you guys don’t know shit about fighting.”
Holloway plans to make the lightweight division his new home, and he is currently the No. 3-ranked lightweight. With wins over Justin Gaethje and Poirier, “Blessed” might be one fight away from receiving his first lightweight title opportunity, not including his symbolic BMF Championship.
BJPenn.com will keep you updated with the latest information on Holloway’s injury and recovery timeframe.
