Max Holloway won’t rule out future welterweight fights after UFC 329 fight with Conor McGregor: “Never say never”

Max Holloway won’t dismiss the possibility of having more 170-pound bouts once his rematch with Conor McGregor concludes.

Holloway has spent most of his career as a featherweight, but he has dabbled in the lightweight division as well. In fact, Holloway’s most scintillating finish was contested at 155 pounds when he knocked out Justin Gaethje with one second to spare in their UFC 300 bout. Gaethje is the current UFC Lightweight Champion.

“Blessed” will have his first welterweight fight at UFC 329 on Saturday. While Holloway would still like to find his way to a lightweight title opportunity, he thinks another fight at 170 pounds can’t be ruled out. He discussed the possibilities in an interview with MMAJunkie, which was facilitated by Stake.com.

“We’ll see what happens,” Holloway said. “Never say never (to staying at 170 after this). I’m not a guy that wants to jump to conclusions. We’ll do what we do and we’re going to figure it out after that. I have history with the champion at 155. A lot of people are talking that even though this fight is at 170, that the winner of our fight could go down and fight at ’55.

“I see a lot of people talking about the winner of this could even go and jump to see Islam (Makhachev). At the end of the day, I don’t know what’s going on. We’ll see. The UFC loves throwing curveballs. They love doing wild stuff. If you told me with my last fight I would be here fighting Conor McGregor in my next one, I would tell you you’re lying. So we’re here now, and life is good.”

Many have wondered if the UFC brass would go as far as to make the winner of McGregor vs. Holloway 2 the No. 1 contender for the UFC lightweight gold despite the fact that their clash will be contested at 170 pounds. Charles Oliveira is also ahead of Holloway in the rankings after defeating him back in March. While Arman Tsarukyan is widely viewed as the most deserving challenger, his lingering issues with UFC behind the scenes could further harm his chances.

Is there any other welterweight fight you’d be interested in seeing for Max Holloway beyond UFC 329? Let us know in the comments below.