Ahead of his UFC 329 comeback, Max Holloway remains excited about facing Conor McGregor in a rematch 13 years in the making. Like always, the former UFC featherweight champion hopes to put on a show for the audience. However, Holloway still regrets not delivering an impressive performance in his last fight against Charles Oliveira, which was another rematch a decade in the making. At UFC 326 in March this year, the Brazilian completely dominated Holloway with his grappling to clinch Holloway’s BMF title by unanimous decision. Now, however, the Hawaiian has reflected on that loss in a candid admission.

“But you can’t be mad at Charles because he went out there and did what he thought he had to do to win,” Holloway told Brett Okamoto of ESPN. “You know what I mean? That doesn’t line up with the belt, but it still won the fight. So, at the end of the day, be mad at me all you want because I should have stopped what I did.

“I had my opportunities to go in there and fight my fight. I didn’t. He went out there and fought a different fight. Of course, in my mind, too, when I think of the BMF, you know what I mean, I think of certain fights. And that wasn’t the fight we got.”  

For Max Holloway, the fight against Charles Oliveira turned out much differently than expected. The Brazilian refused to give the Hawaiian any opportunity to keep the fight standing, constantly initiating clinches and takedowns. As a result, ‘Do Bronx’ landed five takedowns from 13 attempts. Despite having solid takedown defense, ‘Blessed’ couldn’t keep the fight on the feet and ultimately lost both the rematch and the BMF belt. In that case, while Holloway understood Oliveira did exactly what he planned to do, he still felt the essence of the BMF belt didn’t match what the previous title fights had represented. 

At UFC 244, Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz engaged in a bloody battle to give birth to the BMF belt, with ‘Gamebred’ taking the victory in the third round after beating Diaz to a pulp. Next came Justin Gaethje, who head-kicked Dustin Poirier at UFC 291 before celebrating the symbolic belt with his signature backflip. Following those iconic moments, Max Holloway created history at UFC 300 by knocking out Gaethje with just one second left on the clock.

So, compared to those moments, the fight between Holloway and Oliveira failed to deliver the level of entertainment. The former featherweight champion understands that his opponent did everything to win the fight, but he still believes fighters sometimes need to prioritize winning over putting on an exciting fight, which he feels was the case at UFC 326.

“That’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes,” Holloway added. “That guy still got the win, and it is what it is. But it proves a point. In the UFC, you know this; you’ve seen it all the time. It’s not even just about winning in this sport. Winning is great. Winning is awesome. But how many times do we see guys win, and they don’t get certain opportunities? You’ve got to win in this sport, but you’ve got to win excitingly. We’re in the entertainment business too.”

Now, as Max Holloway is still livid about losing the BMF belt against Charles Oliveira, he wants to win it back as soon as possible. In fact, the Hawaiian has already made up his mind.

Max Holloway wants a trilogy fight against Charles Oliveira for the BMF belt  

After losing the belt, the former featherweight champion assured everyone that he wouldn’t make any “excuse” for his defeat. However, he vowed to make a comeback by defeating his next opponent and then quickly working his way back into title contention for a trilogy fight against Charles Oliveira.

“I’m going to come back, whoop somebody’s a—s and be right in title contention again,” Holloway said at the UFC 326 post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “I ain’t done yet. I’m going to see Mr. Oliveira again, bro. That’s for sure.”

Well, Holloway’s chances of facing Charles Oliveira in a trilogy next could be slim, as the Brazilian is actively pursuing a rematch against lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, even if it means putting his BMF belt on the line. However, if ‘Blessed’ does get another chance to face Oliveira in the future, he could definitely win the fight.

Of course, the former featherweight champion would need to make some adjustments. But historically, many fighters have won a trilogy after dropping the first two meetings. Well, Max Holloway himself did exactly that against Dustin Poirier at UFC 318 after losing their previous two bouts. Also, Stipe Miocic defeated Daniel Cormier twice (UFC 241 and UFC 252) after losing their first fight at UFC 226. 

That said, after facing McGregor, it’s more likely that Max Holloway will move back to the lightweight division. And if he can put together a few more wins at 155 pounds, he could definitely find himself back in line to face Oliveira or even for another opportunity for the undisputed title.