Max Holloway, (27-8 MMA, 23-8 UFC) currently the No. 3 contender at lightweight, is due to defend his BMF Championship in March when he fights Charles Oliveira (36-11, 1 NC MMA, 24-11, 1 NC UFC) inside T-Mobile Arena in Enterprise, NV in the UFC 326 main event. The contest will be a renewal of hostilities more than a decade in the making.
Back in the summer of 2015, the two men set foot inside the fabled Octagon for the first time and it ended in a hurry. During the first round of a scheduled five inside SaskTel Centre in Saskatchewan, “Blessed” secured a TKO win in under two minutes when Oliveira sustained an injury to his neck and shoulder, preventing him from continuing in the contest.
Much has changed for both fighters in the decade-plus since the original fight. For Max Holloway, however, the path to victory remains the same as it did in the summer of 2015.
Max Holloway Remains Lone Fighter to Defend BMF Championship Heading into Oliveira Rematch
Recently, Holloway uploaded a video to YouTube. Among the topics of discussion: His status as the only fighter to successfully defend the symbolic BMF title.
“Being the only guy to defend the BMF belt, it’s cool and all,” Max Holloway began. “It’s just another record. At the end of the day, I can’t sit here, relax and smell the roses. We’ve got to keep growing. We’ve got to keep trucking. I can be the only man to defend it twice, so at the end of the day, I’ve got history on my mind.”
Eventually, Max Holloway says that he’d like to trade in the BMF Championship for the UFC Lightweight Championship.
“The end goal is the undisputed title,” he said. “I believe Charles Oliveira, being a very worthy opponent, he was the last one to fight for a title, he was an undisputed titleholder at one point, with a win over Dustin [Poirier,] a win over him, if I can go out there, do a BMF moment again, get my hand raised, maybe we’ll get me one step closer to the undisputed title.”
“Blessed” Unfazed by Stakes of BMF Championship
Even though the BMF Championship will be on the line for the third time for Max Holloway on the first Saturday night in March, he says that it’ll be just another day at work.
“Everybody always asks that question ‘With the BMF title, is there a different way [to prepare for the contest?]'”, he said. “It’s a fight, man, it’s just another fight. I think I’m a BMF in any fight I did, title or not, even in the undisputed title. At the end of the day, no difference.”
“The opponents change for sure, but no difference at all,” Max Holloway continued. “We’re here, I’ve been in this game for a long time. I know what I’ve got to do, I know Charles, he has threats toward me. I know what he can do. We just get ready.”
Holloway on Importance of BMF Title
While the BMF Championship is a symbolic title, Max Holloway says that it has meaning attached to it.
“Very few get to fight for this belt,” he said. “The belt was a laughingstock, I think, before, and then all of a sudden, I got it. Everybody wants to fight for it now, so it’s hilarious. It’s fun to me. I mean, title, no title, I carry myself as a BMF through whatever fight it may be, so at the end of the day, having this title, getting this, headlining pay-per-view cards is awesome. I’m loving it.”
Max Holloway Forecasting Fireworks in BMF Defense March 7
When Holloway first won the BMF Championship in April of 2024, he did so in stunning, dramatic fashion, stopping Justin Gaethje with an overhand right at literally the last second of their fight at UFC 300. 14 months later, Max Holloway sent Dustin Poirier into retirement with a unanimous decision victory during UFC 318’s main attraction, becoming the first man to defend the symbolic title.
Although the calendar will read March 7 when their fight at UFC 326 begins, Holloway wants to light up the night like July 4 in Enterprise, NV.
“Is this matchup going to bring a different version of me?,” he pondered. “Probably not. I go out there, I do what I do. My coach is probably going to kill me when they see this and hear me saying [this,] but a BMF thing to do in this fight is to submit a submission artist. That’d be pretty BMF, but at the end of the day, never say never. If your boy threw up some submissions here and there and I get one, who’s to say what happens?”
Final Thoughts
Numerically speaking, since joining the UFC, Max Holloway has only won by way of submission on two occasions, most recently in April of 2015.
That submission win versus Cub Swanson came directly before the initial contest with Charles Oliveira. A submission win over Oliveira would certainly be rarefied air if he can record it.
Comparatively, Charles Oliveira has netted a staggering 17 wins by way of submission during his tenure on the UFC’s active roster. Who will emerge victorious? Tune in on March 7 to find out.
