Max Holloway already has another fight waiting for him after UFC 218.
Undisputed UFC featherweight king Max Holloway is booked to defend his throne in an immediate rematch against Jose Aldo on December 3. Aldo steps in as a replacement for former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, who was forced out of the bout after suffering a facial injury in training that required surgery.
With 12 wins in the UFC’s 145 lb division and one catchweight victory over Anthony Pettis to claim the interim strap under his belt, Holloway is coming dangerously close to clearing out the weight class before he hits his late 20s. At the time of writing, Edgar and ‘the Korean Zombie’ are the only two fighters in the top five Holloway has not defeated.
The division is by no means a weak one. Rising stars such as Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez, Dooho Choi, Mirsad Bektic, Jason Knight and Renato Moicano may only be a win or two against a marquee name away from earning a crack at the championship. Until one of those prospects breaks free from the pack and that piece of gold is still wrapped around Holloway’s waist, we might be seeing a few rematches in featherweight title fights.
All about perspective https://t.co/mxm1F9hF5H
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 17, 2017
If all goes according to Holloway’s plan and he beats Aldo again, Edgar will more than likely get the call to fight the Hawaiian. However, if Holloway wants to fight on home soil, another opportunity has presented itself in the form of three-weight world boxing champion Mikey Garcia.
The 29-year-old has a pristine professional record of 37-0, with 30 of those victories coming by way of knockout. He is the current WBC lightweight champion and has previously held the WBO and The Ring magazine featherweight titles as well as the WBO junior lightweight title.
In other words, he’s pretty damn great at boxing.
Devastating KO last night by undefeated Mikey Garcia to become a 3 division world champ! He's a beast!@mikeygarcia https://t.co/S8gKPalSym
— Strictly Boxing Fans (@BoxingBritain1) January 29, 2017
Garcia announced in a video on social media that he is targeting a fight against Holloway in Hawaii around April 2018. He claims that all parties involved are excited about the potential bout and right now, the details are being finalised to make it happen.
“Well, you know what? We’re preparing something big for you guys. I’m pretty excited. I want to come to Hawaii. I hear Hawaii’s pretty excited about me. We want to get in the ring and give you guy’s a great fight. We’re looking at Max Holloway, who I know is a great fighter, great UFC champion, he’s the best. So why not get in the ring and give the fans another great fight.”
Although he didn’t specify in the video, it is expected that Garcia is referring to an exhibition boxing match against ‘Blessed’. No ‘money belts’ are expected to be up for grabs on the night.
