Featherweight champion Max Holloway holds an impressive 20-4 mixed martial arts record, with 16 of those victories taking place in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. In moving up to lightweight this past April to challenge Dustin Poirier for the interim belt, "Blessed" suffered his first loss in six years.

Now scheduled to defend his featherweight title against Frankie Edgar on July 27 in Canada, Holloway confirmed on "Ariel Helwani's MMA Show" that he still has his sights set on the 155-pound division. Despite the unanimous decision loss to Poirier, Holloway feels that the path to a second title shot is not far from reach.

"No disrespect to the [lightweights] or all the challengers there, but you know, after this loss to Dustin, the ladder at '55 ain't really that long. I feel like if I wanna go up there and mix it in with them, then we get in it."

Holloway followed up with a somewhat poetic assertion that "[155] ain't out, you know, fishes swim, birds fly, and I fight, so, I can't wait."

Despite owning an impressive MMA legacy of his own, the UFC's decision to book Holloway's title defense against Edgar was a bit surprising. Edgar hasn't fought since his April 2018 win over Cub Swanson. Many expected the nod to go to Alexander Volkanovski who is fresh from a unanimous decision victory over former champion Jose Aldo.

Rumors have surfaced that perhaps Vokanovski will still get his chance later this year to face Holloway in his homeland of Australia. Holloway is not outright opposed to taking the fight to another man's backyard. "At the end of the day, we'll see what happens. I like opportunities, why not, you know? I went to [the] 'King of Rio' [and] fought him there [in Brazil]. That's what kings do, I guess. They go to other people's villages and they take over."