Dana White Wants Holloway to Move to 155 Pounds: ‘Everybody in the Top 5 is a Fun Fight for Him’
If Dana White gets his way, Max Holloway’s days as the world’s top featherweight could be numbered.
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“I think that the guy’s on 27 going on 28, he’s in the prime of his life, never looked better, continues to improve with every single fight, and I think he’s done everything he can do at 145,” White said at the UFC 231 post-fight press conference. “Why keep cutting that weight, and I think there’s some big things for him at 155.
“If Holloway goes to [155], everybody in the top 5 is a fun fight
for him,” White said.
While Holloway believes he still has more work to do to surpass Jose Aldo as the sport’s greatest featherweight, he seemed intrigued by the challenges that exist at 155 pounds. In that weight class, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson and Conor McGregor could all be interesting foes for Holloway.
“Everybody talks about the top three guys,” Holloway said. “Everybody wants to see me and Conor because we fought when I was a kid.
“I keep hearing the name Conor, Khabib,” Holloway added. “At the end of the day, they’ve got something to figure out. Hopefully, they can figure it out. I wish the best of luck to them, and we can sit down with Dana and figure it out.”
Off all the possible options, Nurmagomedov might be the one that intrigues Holloway the most. After handing Ortega the first loss of his pro career, “Blessed” would relish the opportunity to do the same to the Dagestani lightweight champion. Holloway was briefly supposed to face “The Eagle” on short notice at UFC 223 in place of Ferguson, but the bout was scrapped when the Hawaiian’s weight cut was ruled unsafe by the New York State Athletic Commission.
“Khabib is another undefeated fighter,” Holloway said. “I got this niche, I guess. I just gave an undefeated fighter his first loss. So maybe that one might excite me the most. We were supposed to have that one. So we’ll see what happens. I don’t know. I ain’t picky. Feed me. They all can get it.”
Removing Holloway from the division would leave a glaring hole in terms of star power, but featherweight has previously survived the loss of McGregor after he moved up to 155 pounds. According to White, it might be worthwhile just to preserve Holloway’s well-being.
“I want what’s right for Max,” White said. “What’s right for Max might not necessarily be what’s right for the division, but we’ll figure that out. I think after his last issues I think it would be better for him physically and every other way to move up to 155 pounds. He has not said one word to me so we’ll see how he feels about that. He and I will talk about it and we’ll go from there.”
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