Max Holloway is looking to make a strong comeback. In the recent past, Holloway has faced some contrasting fate. Back in UFC 300, he went up against Justin Gaethje. After a mad exchange of boxing, Holloway dropped Gaethje with a thundering punch to the chin. Next up, it was Holloway who faced Ilia Topuria for the featherweight title. And this time around, it was Holloway who got knocked out. Thus, trying to move on from the setback, ‘Blessed’ has laid down his future plans.
In a recent video uploaded on X, Holloway stated that his initial aim will be to defeat Dustin Poirier. At UFC 318, the two will face off in what would be Poirier’s farewell bout. Now then, Holloway stated that if he can get a dominant victory then he will be back in title contention. And what’s more? Holloway also fancies a shot at the winner of the Ilia Topuria vs. Charles Oliveira fight.
“Dustin’s last fight was for the title. I still have title contention in my mind. I got history with both men. At the end of the day, if I get a statement win, who’s to say your boy’s not fighting for the 155 undisputed title at the end of the year?” said Holloway.
Max Holloway is looking to beat Dustin Poirier and fight the winner of Topuria vs Oliveira 👀
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 13, 2025
“I got history with both [Ilia and Charles]… if I get a statement win, who’s to say your boy won’t fight for the title at the end of the year.”
🎥 @BlessedMMApic.twitter.com/XnDiUHEz1W
Surely, it is evident that Holloway has still not given up his title hopes. And while he will look to ruin Poirier’s farewell party, Holloway had some words of praise from Ilia Topuria.
Ilia Topuria Calls Max Holloway ‘Smart’
Ilia Topuria surely did secure a knock out victory against Holloway. But the scorecard does not give the full picture. Fighting for the title, Topuria was put in a serious state of bother. With Holloway’s punches coming hard, Topuria had to pull out an incredible punch to stop ‘Blessed.’ And all these exchanges seem to have left Topuria quite impressed. Heaping praises on his rival, Topuria said in an episode of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience,’
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“I’m a fan of Volk and Max Holloway. Actually, they were the smartest guys that I ever faced inside the octagon. I felt that they had that fight IQ, they know how to fight.”
👀Ilia Topuria says he doesn’t like Yair Rodriguez fighting style.
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) April 16, 2025
He says he’s a fan of Volkanovski and Max Holloway styles instead🤝
"They were the smartest guys I’ve ever faced. They had that fight IQ. They knew how to fight."
🎥 @joeroganhq pic.twitter.com/2Dp6mVamSq
Thus, with the much hyped fight coming up, it remains to be seen how Max Holloway fares.
Also Read: Charles Oliveira Ups The Ante By Asking Ilia Topuria To ‘Respect’ Lightweight Fighters
