“Hey Hunter [Campbell]. Charles Oliveira vs. Max Holloway [for the] BMF [title]. Let’s make that happen,” submission king Charles Oliveira called out from the Octagon at UFC Rio two months ago. He was riding high on his win against Mateusz Gamrot at UFC Rio and a ranking boost that placed him at No. 2. Trailing right behind him, Max Holloway didn’t seem too pleased.

The two lightweights have quite a history, starting a decade ago at UFC Fight Night 74. That bout was shorter than a blitz, ending just 99 seconds into the first round after Oliveira suffered an esophagus injury. Fast forward to 2025, and the jiu-jitsu black belt seems to have overtaken one of UFC’s best boxers. That doesn’t sit well with Holloway.

Max Holloway discredits the UFC ranking system

‘Blessed’ is the current BMF titleholder and has fought some of the best guys in UFC, including Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and the infamous Volkanovski trilogy. Naturally, when Oliveira’s win against Gamrot, the then No. 9, pushed him even above Holloway, he couldn’t help but scratch his head over how the rankings work.

In a video shared by KoreanZombieMMA on X, Holloway spoke up on that, “I was ahead of him in the rankings for some time. And then he fought someone who was ranked like 10, and then all of a sudden, he magically moved above me without me fighting. So I don’t know how the UFC rankings work.”

Well, we cannot ignore ‘do Bronx’s terrific submission win at Rio. After outpacing Gamrot in striking and constantly pressuring him, Oliveira landed a takedown early in Round 2, which gave him a lot of time to set up his attacks. Oliveira chased Gamrot’s back, catching him in a tight RNC finish. Whether that was enough to surpass the striking maestro is debatable.

Holloway leaves that decision to the Octagon. “There’s a BMF title on the line. I mean, a lot of people like to consider him one of the BMFs in the division, and that’d be fun, I think,” he added on the video.

However, Holloway himself is sidelined from the MMA scene after suffering what he describes as a “stupid” right-hand injury in his last fight against Dustin Poirier. Although he took the win via UD, his absence since has left an indelible mark on his lightweight division standings. But that hasn’t stopped him from questioning the ranking system.

‘Blessed’ took a sharp dig at his P4P rankings, eclipsing Arman Tsarukyan and Charles Oliveira, who have, in contrast, overshadowed the BMF champion in the lightweight division. “The ranking system, to me — you can be the judge — it’s kind of out of whack,” Holloway commented. Furthermore, he threw his jabs at Paddy Pimblett, who jumped up four spots after his win against Michael Chandler.

But the ‘Blessed’ isn’t letting this ranking snub slide, vocally vouching for a rematch with Oliveira.

Max Holloway wants Oliveira duology

The first time both stepped in the cage together a decade ago, the hype was just as real, but the fight failed to live up to the expectations. The bout ended via early stoppage after Oliveira suffered an unclear throat injury. Neither party was satisfied with the result, it seems. Following ‘do Bronx’s decisive win against Gamrot, he felt like the next logical step was to make matters even with Holloway. The latter responded to that invitation rather enthusiastically, despite his recent injuries.

“That’s the fight I want. That’s a fight a lot of people want to see,” Holloway responded.  “We have history. There’s not too many people right now that people are considering BMFs. But on that very short list, Charles Oliveira is one of them. So you tell me that I get to go out there and defend the BMF title again against a man who’s very respected, who I have history with? And [whenever] they talk about our [first] fight, or he talks about it, [he blames] an injury or whatever, so let’s go figure it out.”

The former featherweight champion has made it clear that he doesn’t quite buy that injury story. He’s very eager to uncover the truth while challenging the UFC rankings, but he will do it on his own terms. Holloway has floated a March 2026 return date at Las Vegas for the rematch for the BMF title. Oliveira has returned that fervour, adding, “It can be in his house.” Looks like a Max Holloway vs Charles Oliveira 2 bout is heating up. Who will take the crown this time?