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Max Holloway moving up to lightweight after Ilia Topuria knockout loss, reveals target return date
Max Holloway is officially leaving behind his home at 145 pounds for good.
The former UFC featherweight champion and all-time divisional great announced Saturday his formal move up to the lightweight division following a UFC 308 title loss to featherweight king Ilia Topuria, which marked the first knockout loss of Holloway's decorated MMA career. Holloway said he expects the change to be permanent and that his extended years of cutting down to the featherweight limit have taken a toll on his body.
“Maybe this is like my phoenix moment. From the ashes we’re reborn," Holloway said on his YouTube channel.
"I’m done with 145. Your boy is only getting older. I turn 33 (in December). No excuses, this cut was easy, bro. Shout out to (nutritionist) Tyler Minton, shout out to my wife, they helped make this cut really easy, but it takes a toll cutting weight, period, at whatever weight you are.
“I had to give up ramen for my ’45 camps, so I’m done with that. I don’t ever want to give up ramen again — 155, here we come, and 155 is where I'm going to stay. This is a new chapter. This is where we start. This is where we begin, and I'm super excited for it. I cannot wait. Like I said, never say never. But I can honestly look you guys in the eyes and tell you guys, I’m probably not ever going back to ’45. I love what I did. I did what I did. I did what I had to do there. I worked my way back, I clawed my back up to the championship fight multiple times there. I was a champion, I defended at that weight. Now it’s time to move on to the next chapter, and 155, there’s a bunch of fun fights that I cannot wait to take.”
Holloway, 32, is one of the most accomplished featherweights in MMA history. Since 2014, Holloway is 17-4 across 21 UFC featherweight bouts, with his four losses only coming in title bouts against Alexander Volkanovski (x3) and Topuria. Holloway's hit list at 145 pounds reads like a compendium of the division's best fighters across multiple eras, including — but not limited to — Jose Aldo (x2), Brian Ortega, Frankie Edgar, Yair Rodriguez, Chan Sung Jung, Charles Oliveira, Cub Swanson, Anthony Pettis, Arnold Allen, and Calvin Kattar.
Holloway found recent success at 155 pounds with his BMF title bout against Justin Gaethje in April at UFC 300. Holloway dominated Gaethje for 24 minutes of the five-round bout before scoring what will likely be 2024's Knockout of the Year in the literal final second. He promises that result is only a taste of the potential he carries in what will be his new division.
“Even the version you saw of myself at 155 against Gaethje is not the full version," Holloway said, "because we had the idea of going back to ’45 because I wanted that world title.
"If you thought that version of myself against Gaethje at (UFC) 300 was good, I can’t wait to get in the lab with my [strength coach] and put some size on, put some right size without worrying about going back down in weight.”
Holloway added that he is targeting a UFC return for 2025's edition of International Fight Week, which generally takes place in the summer.
"With me being ranked at ’55, it's great. Hopefully I can fight somebody in front of me," Holloway said. "We get a big win, who knows? We might be knocking on another title fight at 155, at lightweight.”
