Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier wants Max Holloway to ease himself into the lightweight division. The former featherweight champion is fresh off his first knockout defeat when he lost to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 last month. Since failing to recapture the featherweight title Max Holloway made the announcement he was done at featherweight. Instead, he would be moving his abilities back to the lightweight division.
Currently, Max Holloway is ranked in the lightweight division of the UFC rankings. This is due to him moving up and knocking out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. This was for the BMF belt and Max was able to get the knockout with only one second left of the 5th round.
Daniel Cormier Names Potential Opponents
Max Holloway and Dustin Poirier have gone on to talk about the idea of fighting each other in what would be a trilogy fight. Currently, Dustin Poirier is up 2-0 in the series and a win against Poirier would propel Max Holloway into title consideration. However, Daniel Cormier would prefer to see Holloway not rush into title contention immediately.
With this being the case, Daniel Cormier has gone on to name a few fringe contenders he would rather see Max Holloway fight. This is before Holloway goes on to fight Poirier. Daniel said this when he said on his Good Guy/ Bad Guy Podcast;
“When you look at the rankings, right now he’s number five and he’s asking for Dustin Poirier. That would be absolutely fantastic, but is there a better way to introduce Max Holloway into the lightweight division?”
“Do we put him in there with Dustin for a third time? Or do we see what happens with Michael Chandler after he fights against Charles Oliveira?”
“Or do we start to kind of look down the rankings a little bit and say, ‘Well, it would be fun to watch him fight a Rafael Fiziev. It would be fun to watch him fight a Benoit Saint-Denis. It would be fun to watch him fight a Paddy Pimblett.’”
“I know that might not be fun for Max, that might not be great for Max, but it would also give him an opportunity to work his way back into contention without being in there with these absolute killers.”
“For me, personally, I would like to see Max Holloway not stand across from Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, Alexander Volkanovski then Ilia Topuria, something not as crazy of a challenge.”
Max Holloway Looking To Open New Chapter
Max Holloway has suggested that he would be moving up a division immediately after his knockout defeat to Topuria. However, he did not confirm this move until November 2nd. The 32-year-old fighter went on to share a video on his Youtube Channel. In the video, he offically announced his new weight class going on to talk about the tough task he had cut down to featherweight. Max Holloway said this when he said;
“This is like my phoenix moment, from the ashes we’re reborn. We’re on to bigger, better stuff and walking through a new door starting a new chapter,”
“I’m a big believer in never say never, and the big question now is, ‘Was that your last fight at 145?’ You guys saw me touch on it in the press conference, and I can honestly say I think I’m done with 145.”
“Your boy is getting older. I turn 33 [in December]. This cut, no excuses. This cut was easy, bro. Shout out to my wife. They helped make this cut really easy, but it takes a toll cutting weight, period. No matter what weight you are.”
“I had to give up ramen for my ’45 camps. So I’m done with that. 155 here we come and 155 is where I want to stay. This is a new chapter.”
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
