The Baddest Motherf***ker is back in the game. Max Holloway is set to defend his BMF title belt against Charles Oliveira on 7th March at UFC 326. No matter how much criticism the belt receives, at least it’s giving the fans a banger fight between two of the hardest-working fighters in the promotion.

The mutual respect between the two is what is spinning the narrative arc ahead of their fight. While fighters are generally found trash-talking their opponents ahead of their fights, Holloway, in a recent clip, tactically explained the nuances of Oliveira’s evolved skill set. And since he’s already fought him once, Holloway’s opinion holds merit.

Max Holloway praises Charles Oliveira ahead of long-awaited UFC rematch

“Oliveira is just a killer,” Max Holloway stated in a clip straight from his training camp. Pointing to his most overlooked skill, the BMF champ explained, “His striking came a long way, and if you see most of his finishes, a lot of the time it’s not Hail Mary submissions that he’s finishing people with. He’s hurting them on the feet, he’s rocking them, and then getting a submission. He’s a real mixed martial artist.”

Holloway further added that he would dissect his game plan and tailor his tactics to ensure he gets the win: “Oliveira is Oliveira. He’s dangerous everywhere. I just need to be smart and fight my game plan. I plan on going in there and getting in his face. I plan on making new fans.”

This fight marks more than 10 years since their rematch in 2015, where Oliveira took a TKO loss early in the first round after suffering a neck/esophageal injury during a takedown defense. This is a historical rematch where both fighters are set to showcase their evolved skills. Both fighters established their places in the featherweight division before joining the elites at lightweight.

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At 36 years of age, Oliveira is in pursuit of regaining the lightweight title. Oliveira dropped his title on the scale after missing weight ahead of his fight with Justin Gaethje in 2022. Though he got two more chances to win back the title, unfortunately, the fights were against Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria.

Meanwhile, Holloway is coming off a big win against Dustin Poirier. And now both fighters are in their era and hungry to add one more feather to their caps.

Charles Oliveira dismisses Max Holloway’s submission talk ahead of UFC 326

Max Holloway’s now-iconic point down challenge is kind of like a psychological mind game in MMA. The “Holloway point down” is an iconic gesture popularized by Holloway. During a fight, often when he feels he has his opponent hurt or is completely dominating the stand-up exchanges, Holloway will deliberately point to the middle of the canvas and invite them to trade shots with him.

However, the Hawaii native feels the most BMF way to beat Charles Oliveira would be to submit him, but the UFC’s leader in most submission wins himself isn’t buying it. “I think he only said that because of the video that came out online,” Oliveira said. “He won’t think about taking me down at any point.”

In a recent social media video, Max shared his thoughts on Charles Oliveira preparing for the point-down challenge and highlighted how he will respond to it during the fight at UFC 326.

“I like the way you think bro. Make him think we’re in a 3-round fight, point in there, and then he does it.”

Deciding the outcome of the fight is a fools errand. Whether the match will be striking show or drift into the ground or swing back and forth is almost unpredictable. As that is the kind volatility they bring inside the octagon.