Michael Bisping sees new life for Max Holloway at light-weight.
Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) did not regain the featherweight title when he was knocked out by champion Ilia Topuria this previous Saturday within the UFC 308 headliner. The loss to Topuria marked the primary time Holloway was ever stopped by strikes in his profession.
Previous to the Topuria loss, Holloway scored an iconic last-second knockout of Justin Gaethje to seize the BMF title at UFC 300. The win positioned him No. 5 within the UFC’s light-weight rankings, and that’s the place Bisping thinks Holloway ought to put all of his focus shifting ahead.
“The time is completed. That ship has sailed: Transfer on,” Bisping stated of Holloway’s featherweight days on his “Consider You Me” podcast. “You’re getting older. The burden minimize’s harder. You’ve had a few losses. You virtually turned the champion once more. You seemed unbelievable in opposition to Justin Gaethje – you took his pictures, you knocked him out chilly. He’s ranked No. (5) at light-weight. There’s a variety of enjoyable fights for (Holloway) at 155 kilos.
“There’s Dan Hooker, there’s (Dustin) Poirier, there’s Gaethje, Charles Oliviera – which by the best way, them three would all be rematches, which is wild. Arman Tsarukyan, he fights Islam (Makhachev) – there’s nothing however massive fights for (Holloway) at 155 kilos. And provided that he’s ranked No. 5 already, one, two fights, Max Holloway is attempting to turn out to be a champion at 155 kilos. So it’s removed from over.”
Holloway himself seems to have acknowledged {that a} transfer again as much as light-weight is one of the best subsequent step for him.
“I had one of the best 145 minimize right here,” Holloway stated throughout the UFC 308 post-fight information convention. “However what else is there to do? I had a pair instances to reclaim it. New guys arising. Yeah, that’d be enjoyable. However I feel 155 appears extra enjoyable, combating extra, the caliber, everybody there, and the names there – it appears actually thrilling to place my identify within the combine.”
Holloway already had one crack on the light-weight title when he confronted Dustin Poirier for the interim belt in April 2019. He misplaced the bout by unanimous resolution.
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