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After Max Holloway’s impressive win over Yair Rodriguez at this weekend’s UFC Fight Night, there has been plenty of talk around who the Hawaiian should fight next.
One potential opponent mentioned for Max Holloway has been former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who defeated ‘Blessed’ back in 2013.
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UFC President Dana White has suggested he’s not keen on the idea. However, a second fight between Max Holloway and Conor McGregor makes a lot of sense right now.
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With this in mind then, here are five reasons why the UFC should book a fight between Max Holloway and Conor McGregor next.
#5: Max Holloway and Conor McGregor clearly want to fight one another
Unsurprisingly, the UFC doesn’t always take what its fighters want into account when it comes to booking fights.
Rose Namajunas, for instance, has suggested that her next UFC strawweight title defense should come against Carla Esparza, something that the promotion doesn’t seem keen on right now.
But while UFC President Dana White has shot down the idea of a fight between Max Holloway and Conor McGregor – labeling it “silly” in a recent interview. However, he may want to change his mind this time around.
Sure, as White says, McGregor is still rehabbing the leg injury he suffered against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264. However, a second clash with Max Holloway clearly interests him.
Not only did the Irishman post a somewhat strange Twitter video this weekend apparently staring ‘Blessed’ down – albeit through his television screen. He also used social media to poke fun at the idea of Holloway being the best boxer in the UFC.
In turn, Max Holloway has stated that he’s on the “shortlist” to fight McGregor. Which, should come as no surprise given a fight with the ‘The Notorious’ would give the Hawaiian a chance to avenge one of his earlier career losses.
So while the UFC doesn’t always acquiesce to the demands of its fighters, in this instance, both Max Holloway and Conor McGregor have the kind of clout to force their hand. At the end of the day, these two stars want to face off, so the UFC should make it happen.
#4: Finding a fight for Max Holloway might be tricky right now
Even if the UFC wants to avoid a fight between Max Holloway and Conor McGregor right now, the fact is that a move up to 155lbs might lie in the future for ‘Blessed’ either way.
It isn’t that the Hawaiian has problems making the 145lbs featherweight limit. In fact, he’s never missed weight in his 25-fight UFC career. It's more that he’s simply short on potential opponents right now.
Max Holloway is clearly one of the best featherweights on the planet, and his recent wins over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez only re-affirmed that idea..
However, because he has two losses to current UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski, it’d be tricky to market a third fight between the two. Although, UFC President Dana White has suggested he’s going to try.
Instead, a move up to 155lbs might make far more sense. Holloway has faced and beaten most of the world’s top 145lbers already. However, at 155lbs, there are tons of fresh fights for him.
It isn’t like he wouldn’t be able to hang with the best in the division, too – he already pushed top contender Dustin Poirier to his limits when they fought in 2019.
Naturally, it’d be a good idea to introduce the Hawaiian into the lightweight division with a big fight. There's also no bigger fight in the UFC right now than a clash with Conor McGregor.
So with a lack of opponents for Max Holloway at 145lbs, why not run it back fight between him and McGregor? Given the existing rivalry between the two, it’s practically the only fight that makes sense.
#3: A win would do wonders for either man
The best fights in the UFC tend to be ones where both fighters are absolutely desperate for a win. Title fights, fights to decide a title contender, or the dreaded “loser-leaves-town” fights would be the best examples of this.
Naturally, there’s absolutely no chance that either Max Holloway or Conor McGregor will be leaving the UFC any time soon. However, if the promotion did put a fight together between ‘Blessed’ and the Irishman, there’s no disputing that a win would do wonders for either of them.
For Conor McGregor, a win over Max Holloway would put him firmly back on track. Right now, ‘The Notorious’ is at the lowest point of his UFC career. As he’s coming off two straight losses to Dustin Poirier and has only won one fight since 2016.
However, if he were to beat ‘Blessed’, then he’d not only pick up a victory over a former UFC champion and a very highly rated fighter. The win would also put him firmly back in title contention.
Holloway, meanwhile, would be absolutely gunning to beat McGregor in a potential fight, and not only to avenge his 2013 loss to the Irishman.
Essentially, ‘Blessed’ is one of the UFC’s best fighters right now. Even so, he hasn’t yet tipped over the edge to the point where he’s a mainstream star and a big-time pay-per-view draw.
However, the same could’ve been said for Dustin Poirier prior to his two wins over McGregor, and now he’s probably one of the five biggest stars in the promotion.
With both Conor McGregor and Max Holloway having plenty to gain from a potential fight, it makes sense for the UFC to book it soon.
#2: A fight between Max Holloway and Conor McGregor would do big numbers for the UFC
Conor McGregor is undoubtedly the UFC’s biggest star right now. The Irishman is responsible for the five biggest-selling UFC pay-per-views of all time, and his headlined events have gone over the million buys mark on eight occasions.
It stands to reason, then, that UFC fans would probably buy a McGregor-headlined show regardless of who ‘The Notorious’ is matched against.
However, it naturally makes sense for the UFC to match McGregor with the most marketable opponent possible. Ensuring that the potential pay-per-view revenue from the show is absolutely maximized.
A fight between McGregor and, say, Beneil Dariush would therefore make no sense. Dariush is a fantastic fighter, but he’s not a big star and he’s never headlined a UFC show before.
That narrows the list of potential opponents for ‘The Notorious’ down – and makes him a tricky fighter to book. Especially because he doesn’t warrant a clash with a top-ranked fighter right now.
Max Holloway, on the other hand, isn’t a top-ranked lightweight as he’s only fought there in the UFC once. However, ‘Blessed’ is a star in his own right.
He’s headlined multiple UFC shows, including in eight of his last ten bouts, and thanks to his charisma and exciting fight style. He’s also highly recognizable for UFC fans.
Essentially, he’s probably on level footing with where Dustin Poirier was prior to his two fights with McGregor this year. Those two fights went on to draw ridiculous numbers for the UFC.
Therefore, there’s no reason why a fight between Max Holloway and Conor McGregor wouldn’t draw similar numbers.
#1: Max Holloway and Conor McGregor might produce an instant classic
ans who’ve gotten into the UFC more recently might find it hard to believe. However, the truth is that the first fight between Max Holloway and Conor McGregor, which took place in August 2013, wasn’t all that great.
At the time, Holloway was still just 21 years old and hadn’t quite found his groove in the UFC. Meanwhile, McGregor was only making his second octagon appearance, too.
That meant that both men came across as slightly tentative, and when ‘The Notorious’ severely injured his knee early in the fight, he ended up switching his gameplan entirely.
Instead of striking with Holloway, he exposed the Hawaiian’s grappling weaknesses. Taking him down and basically wrestling him to a decision. It remains probably the most forgettable fight of either man’s UFC career.
Since then, though, plenty has changed. Not only is McGregor now much more comfortable inside the octagon, but Holloway’s overall game has come on leaps and bounds. He’s now arguably the best combination striker in the UFC, and his submission grappling is second to none too.
Therefore, the likelihood of a rematch looking anything like their first meeting is very slim. Instead, it’s likely that ‘Blessed’ and ‘The Notorious’ would treat UFC fans to a striking-based battle, with one of the two going down hard.
Based on Holloway’s recent form in particular, if he were to step into the octagon with McGregor for a second time, not only would the atmosphere be off the charts. UFC fans could well be treated to an instant classic, too.
If the UFC really wants to book a fight for the fans, then there can be no doubt that Max Holloway vs. Conor McGregor II is the clash to make.
