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Max Holloway Says He Will Fight Against ‘Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Prodigy’

Published 11/12/2021, 12:05 PM EST

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Max Holloway is one of the best fighters in MMA right now and has been for some time. He is the former UFC featherweight champion and defended his title three times before relinquishing it to Alexander Volkanovski.

‘Blessed’ is currently preparing to fight Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC Fight Night 197. This will be his second fight this year, having fought in January against Calvin Kattar. He dominated Kattar in that fight and won it via a unanimous decision. Having mostly fought in the featherweight division, Holloway once jumped up a weight class. He fought Dustin Poirier in 2019, for the interim UFC lightweight title. He lost the back-and-forth battle via a unanimous decision.

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However, ‘Blessed‘ was going to fight for the title earlier than that. He was going to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018 when Tony Ferguson backed out of the fight. But because of short notice nature of the bout, the doctors pulled him from the card.

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In a recent interview, he was asked about how he would’ve beaten Nurmagomedov. He said, “Go out there and fight my fight. Do what Max Holloway does. Fight my pace, fight my fight. Get in his face, get early and just get it done, you know.”

“I can’t really give away too much,” Holloway said. “Your boy still might go up to 55 and then there’s Islam over there that is Khabib’s prodigy. So, at the end of the day, can give away my secrets too much because we might see this guy in the near future.”

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Max Holloway and possible future matchups

Holloway is back this Saturday after 10 months, to take on Yair Rodriguez. Fans are excited about his return and would love to see a classic Max Holloway performance. ‘El Pantera‘ has also not been in the octagon for a long time. This will be his first fight in over two years, and ring rust can be an issue for the Mexican fighter.

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If Max Holloway beats Rodriguez, he will be the number 1 contender for the featherweight title. A trilogy fight with Alexander Volkanovski will be on the books, and he would love to get a win against a man who has beaten him twice. However, his last loss to him was a controversial one, as most of the media outlets and other personalities had Holloway winning that fight. Holloway has also teased going up a division and fighting some big names there.

‘Blessed’ has talked about a future matchup with Conor McGregor. Both former champs have been going back and forth on social media and it is a fight many can see happening. They first fought way back in 2013, a fight which McGregor won comfortably. A fight at 155 could happen, and will definitely have everyone looking forward to it. Holloway, in a recent interview, also said that he is always on the shortlist to fight ‘The Notorious.’

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There are many other fights as well. Holloway just teased a matchup with Makhachev. A trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier can’t be ruled out as well.

A lot of interesting matchups can be in line for Holloway and that will only get the fans more excited.

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What do you think of a fight between Max Holloway and Islam Makhachev? Let us know in the comments!

WATCH THIS STORY – Everything You Need To Know About Max Holloway and His Fiancee, Alessa Quizon

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Written by:

Arunaditya Aima

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Arunaditya is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. Having completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Multimedia Journalism from IIJNM, Arunaditya aspires to be an important voice in the world of MMA and interview the likes of Jon Jones, Conor McGregor, Amanda Nunes, and other such superstars of the sport. He has followed the sport for over a decade and is an ardent fan of Georges St-Pierre, who he believes is the greatest of all time.
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