Max Holloway isn’t holding back ahead of his highly anticipated return at UFC 318. Set to headline the card on July 19 in New Orleans, the Hawaiian will face off against Dustin Poirier for the BMF title in what promises to be an emotional farewell bout for “The Diamond.” Poirier has already made it clear, this will be his last dance, win, lose, or draw.
For Holloway, this isn’t just another fight. It’s a statement. A third battle with Poirier. A shot at redemption. And a chance to cement his place as a top contender at lightweight. However, as the date inches closer, Holloway has one issue, his name still sits at the top of the featherweight rankings, a division he’s already left behind.
“I don’t know what you guys are thinking keeping me number one contender there,” Holloway told MMA Junkie. “That’s kind of ridiculous. I’m not going back down to 145. I’m over it.”
The former UFC featherweight king made a permanent move up to lightweight after suffering a brutal knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308. That was Holloway’s last featherweight bout, and like Topuria—who has also moved up— he expected to be removed from the rankings. Instead, the UFC left Holloway at No. 1.
“The rankings, they’re all over the place,” he continued. “Even with Ilia. Soon as he announced he was coming up, they took him directly out of the damn ‘45 one. They left me at No. 1 contender. So I was like, what the hell is going on? At the end of the day, I don’t care. The rankings is cool, the rankings is fun, but how many times do we see guys who rank at a certain position saying now I’m getting a title shot? It took me 12 fights to get an interim title fight at ‘45.”
That inconsistency has frustrated Holloway, and for good reason. Despite the chaos in the featherweight rankings, his move to lightweight has gone well. Holloway currently sits at No. 5 in the division after stopping Justin Gaethje in a violent, knockout earlier this year.
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“It’s ridiculous, I don’t understand. The rankings care, but I don’t get it. We go back to the Gaethje fight,he was the number one contender when I fought him at 155, and he was what, ranked four or five at the time?” Holloway said. “I thought definitely when the rankings came out I wouldn’t come out at number nine. That’s just ridiculous… The rankings are all over the place.”
The UFC 318 main event marks the third meeting between Holloway and Poirier. The Louisiana native leads the series 2-0, having submitted Holloway in his UFC debut and outpointed him for the interim lightweight title back in 2019. This time, they’ll run it back in Poirier’s home state, with the BMF belt on the line and legacy on the table.
While Poirier hints at a grand walkout featuring rap legend Lil Wayne, Holloway is focused on clarity, specifically, being removed from a division he no longer competes in.
