Max Holloway has a vested interest in anything happening at lightweight now that he is a permanent addition to the 155-pound division.
Following a storied career at featherweight, where he’s widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time, Holloway is putting that chapter behind him for good when he returns to action at UFC 318 on Saturday to face Dustin Poirier for a third time. Considering he already has a stunning knockout of perennial contender Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, Holloway knows an emphatic win over Poirier puts him right back in the hunt for a title shot. However, he might have to stand in line a little longer no matter his next result.
Right now, Paddy Pimblett appears poised to get the first crack at new UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria after they shared a heated faceoff just moments after Topuria won the belt in June. On paper, Pimblett arguably hasn’t done enough to earn a title shot, but Holloway understands probably better than most that rankings, wins, and losses only matter so much when the UFC sees dollar signs with a potential matchup.
“We’re in a sport where I say we have moments,” Holloway explained when speaking to MMA Fighting. “People forget we’re in the entertainment business. That’s just what it is. That’s what fighting is. We’re entertainment, and whoever sells those seats, that’s what the UFC is going to do. When you talk about the rankings and Arman [Tsarukyan], we have the president talking about how Arman is taking the right step to getting a title shot again, which is insane, and with Justin Gaethje saying about a title shot, I mean my last ‘55 fight, I did what I did [to him] and now I’m here at ‘55. It’s just weird.
“At the end of the day, it’s entertainment. You can’t be mad. You can’t be mad at anything. You want something in here? You’ve got to open your mouth. What’s the saying, the squeaky wheel gets the oil. That’s how it goes.”
While Pimblett has gone undefeated thus far in his UFC career, he’s faced plenty of criticism for his performances compared to Topuria, who has largely ran roughshod over all of his competition including several wins over future Hall of Famers.
Most expect Pimblett will be a massive underdog against Topuria if he actually receives the next UFC lightweight title shot, but Holloway refuses to count Pimblett out just because the narrative being built says he doesn’t stand a chance in a fight with Topuria.
“It’s MMA. It’s mixed martial arts. Anybody can win,” Holloway said. “Everybody can say we saw Paddy get cracked. I saw myself get cracked a bunch of times and when Ilia hit me, we saw what we saw. At the end of the day, it’s mixed martial arts. I think Paddy and their team will prepare right for that fight. I think they’ll have a game plan and he’s no slouch.
“A lot of people thought Paddy was this guy who just talks and runs his mouth and then he got to prove himself against a guy like [Michael] Chandler. He’s not a wrestler but he out-wrestled the wrestler, which was pretty crazy to see.”
With all signs pointing towards that fight happening sometime in late 2025 or possibly early 2026, Pimblett has full confidence he can beat Topuria to become UFC champion.
Holloway might not be big on predictions, but he can’t discount the possibility Pimblett gets it done.
“He’s super good,” Holloway said about Pimblett. “This is mixed martial arts. It’s what’s going on that day and whoever can apply their game plan that they’ve been doing, you never know.”
