Holloway may be sidelined until 2026

It’s being reported that former featherweight champion and current BMF titleholder’s fighting future could possibly land him the lightweight division.

Holloway is ranked No. 3 in the 155-pound division. He claimed the BMF title at UFC 300 in April 2024 against Justin Geathje. He also successfully defended his belt against Dustin Poirier at UFC 319 in July.

In between those wins, Holloway lost a featherweight bout by knockout against then-champion Ilia Topuria.

There isn’t a shortage of fighters looking for a title shot against Ilia Topuria. The top-ranked contender in Arman Tsarukyan wants to take on Topuria. No. 4 ranked Geathje has said that he would retire if didn’t get a title shot.

Holloway may get a title shot until 2026.

“I see a lot of people talking about who is next, who’s this. There’s a lot of fun fights for me at 155: There’s [Charles] Oliveira. If Justin [Gaethje] gets the next title shot, that would be cool. If I get the next title shot, that would be sick, but if you have hopes of me fighting before the end of the year, it’s probably not going to happen,” Holloway said on his YouTube channel.

“I see a specialist sometimes this week. I already met with my doctor. Now I’ve got to go meet the specialist but things are not looking too up for me fighting one more time this year,” continued Holloway.

Holloway plans to take some time away from the octagon by spending time with his family and honestly, he doesn’t know what’s next.

“I’m excited for the future, but what’s next, I couldn’t tell you,” Holloway said. “Now this stupid injury pushed me back a little bit, so we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Now there’s a wrench in our plans because of this injury, but whatever. We get to see how it plays out now, and I’m excited to see. There’s a lot of fun fights, a lot of big fights.”