As he awaits the featherweight division to play out, Max Holloway sees Justin Gaethje as a good option for his next fight.
Holloway (25-7 MMA, 21-7 UFC) issued “BMF” champion Gaethje a callout in what he thinks would be a fan-friendly matchup. Former featherweight titleholder Holloway certainly fits the bill of a “BMF” title fight having fought the who’s who in MMA.
With lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev potentially rematching Charles Oliveira next, Holloway suggest a matchup with Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in the meantime.
“I was shooting my shot for that ‘BMF’ with ‘The Highlight’ (Gaethje),” Holloway told ESPN. “I think we both would make a fun one for the fans, there’s that ‘BMF’ belt. I know they’re short on guys for UFC 300, so that would be ideal. One for the fans because he’s going to be waiting. If Islam doesn’t fight between Ramadan, he is going to have to wait all the way until October, and his last fight, that will be over a year and a half.
“I don’t think he should be sitting around that long. So, in the meantime, why not have a fun one, both make a lot of money, and we’ll put on a show and make a lot of fans happy? That was the idea.”
Gaethje respectfully turned down Holloway’s callout and prefers to wait his turn for a title shot after back-to-back wins over Rafael Fiziev and Dustin Poirier. Holloway completely understands his decision, but hopes he changed his mind.
“I wouldn’t want talent like that to be sitting out for a year for a title shot,” Holloway said. “I understand where he’s coming from. I understand why he wants to because he deserves the next shot.”
