Max Holloway has his target firmly planted on a rematch with Charles Oliveira for his next octagon appearance.
BMF champion Holloway (27-8 MMA, 23-8 UFC) made it clear in the immediate aftermath of Oliveira (36-11 MMA, 24-11 UFC) beating Mateusz Gamrot at UFC Fight Night 261 this month that he was keen for a sequel with the promotional leader in finishes, submissions and bonuses.
The pair first met in August 2015 in the UFC Fight Night 74 headliner in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, with the contest ending in anticlimactic fashion. Oliveira went down holding his collarbone and neck area after an apparent injury, giving Holloway the first-round TKO win.
UFC officials initially told MMA Junkie that Oliveira has sustained a micro-tear in his esophagus, but to this day the circumstances remain somewhat mysterious. Nevertheless, both men have gone on to have iconic UFC careers since, winning multiple championship fights and firmly entrenching themselves in the record books.
With Oliveira coming off the win over Gamrot and Holloway recently avenging a pair of losses to Dustin Poirier in their UFC 318 trilogy bout in July, the stars have aligned to run things back.
“That’s the fight I want. That’s the fight a lot of people want to see.,” Holloway told MMA journalist Drake Riggs. “We have history. There’s not too many people right now that others are considering BMFs, and on that very short list, Charles Oliveira is one of them. You’re telling me I get to go out there and defend the BMF title again against a man who is very respected, who I have history with?”
Holloway, No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie lightweight rankings, admits he has somewhat of a bad taste in his mouth about how the first fight with No. 4-ranked Oliveira unfolded and the lack of recognition he got for having that name on his resume.
He wants to leave no doubt with a rematch, and knows that it’s a win that would move him closer to another rematch against reigning UFC lightweight champ Ilia Topuria.
“The first time he talked about our fight, it was an injury or whatever, so let’s go figure it out,” Holloway said. “If you believe the first one was because of the injury — and everybody’s going to come at me after this hits light: At the end of the day, if you really did your research, nothing was ever found for an injury when he got released from the doctor.
“I would love that fight. He did great things. He actually was a champion at one point. Me getting another win over another top-five guy would only get me closer to a title shot, where I eventually want to be.”
