Max Holloway: I’ll ‘defend the interim title 10 times’ if Aldo fight doesn’t materialize

By Tom Taylor - January 3, 2017

With Conor McGregor now soundly out of the picture, the featherweight spotlight is fixed firmly on two men. The first is Jose Aldo, who surrendered the belt to McGregor in 2015, but was promoted back to undisputed champion when McGregor was stripped of the featherweight title in late 2016. The other is Max Holloway, who won the interim featherweight title with a defeat of former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis at December’s UFC 206.

Max Holloway

As the champion and interim champion of the division, Aldo and Holloway have been rumored for a title unification bout for several weeks. Apparently, however, the UFC is having a difficult time putting this fight together, as the bout has yet to be made official.

Evidently, Holloway is getting tired of waiting. On a recent episode of MMAJunkie Radio, the streaking Hawaiian explained his intention to defend the interim title multiple times if Aldo isn’t available.

“I’m not going to wait around,” Holloway explained. “I’ll defend the interim title 10 times if I have to.”

If he were to defend the interim title, Holloway has a few ideas in mind for prospective opponents. His words:

“I want to fight Edgar. I’d love to fight Edgar. I’d take that fight in a heartbeat. Former champion, back on his win streak, he fought Aldo, and if I can do my thing and win the fight convincingly, [I will] prove to people [I deserve the belt]. I’m not trying to race through the division; I’m trying to clean out the division.”

“I’ve been calling out Chad Mendes, Jose Aldo, Frankie Edgar forever,” he said. “I’ve been calling out the top-five guys every damn time. We just wasn’t getting a fight. Now it’s here, and I want them even more. The storyline is even better.”

Would you like to see a Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar fight if a bout with Jose Aldo doesn’t materialize? Sound off, PENN Nation!