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What’s Next For Max Holloway?

Originally posted on BoxingNews.com | Last updated Jul 23, 2025 10:25 AM ET

Max Holloway retained his BMF belt with a win over Dustin Poirier at UFC 318, as we look at his next steps.

The win keeps Holloway firmly in the top five of the UFC’s lightweight rankings and opens the door to several major fights. At the UFC 318 post-fight press conference, Dan White praised Holloway’s performance, suggesting a rematch with Topuria—who knocked Holloway out earlier in 2024—could happen. The BMF belt was not up for grabs, as a second bout could give Topuria added incentive to run it back.

Options

Holloway, meanwhile, isn’t short on options. Along with calling out Topuria, he’s also expressed interest in a rematch with Charles Oliveira if a title shot doesn’t materialize. The two first met in 2015, when Holloway won via first-round TKO after Oliveira suffered a freak oesophagus injury. Holloway has since questioned the legitimacy of that result and says now is the ideal time to settle unfinished business.

If those fights don’t play out, Holloway could target Dan Hooker. The latter is known for his striking, much like Holloway, as it presents a thrilling match-up. Hooker is still ranked in the UFC lightweight top 15 and is always close to big matchups as shown on his resume, having faced Poirier and Chandler to name a few. Holloway even mentioned his name after his Poirier win.

“I love that, you gotta work your way up. So we can let them know. I mean, I’m not saying no to Dan Hooker, but I’m just saying, can we please have a BMF ranking so we can see it? “Actually, I don’t even know if it’s UFC. Can we get the fans to do it? Because UFC’s rankings is slacking all over the place,” Holloway stated

This article first appeared on BoxingNews.com and was syndicated with permission.

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