Max Holloway wants to participate in Khabib Nurmagomedov draw

ABU DHABI – Max Holloway throws his name in the hat.

Following his dominant UFC victory over ABC 1 by unanimous decision over Calvin Kattar, Holloway (22-6 MMA, 18-6 UFC) expressed interest in serving as a backup fighter for the UFC 257 pay-per-view on Saturday. next.

UFC lightweight contenders Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler and Dan Hooker are all set for the event – four of five Nurmagomedov contenders (29-0 MMA, 13-0 UFC) have recently expressed potential interest to come out of retirement. combat.

While Holloway wants to participate in the discussion, UFC President Dana White, on the other hand, is less enthusiastic about the idea.

“I think he deserves to go home and take some time,” White told UFC on ABC 1 after the post-fight press conference. “I respect him, but yeah, we’re good. Were covered. “

Although his boss doesn’t like the idea, Holloway insists he stays on “Fight Island” and will be ready if necessary. In MMA, unforeseen circumstances are not unusual – and Holloway hopes to capitalize on if that happens.

“I am here until next week. If something’s going on in this crazy, wild sport, don’t be surprised, man, ”Holloway said. “Tune in next week for a huge pay-per-view. There are a lot of surprises happening. “

Holloway has a history with Nurmagomedov. In 2018, Holloway was briefly paired with Nurmagomedov as a replacement for Tony Ferguson at UFC 223. However, Holloway was forced to retire during fight week and the fight never materialized.

“We’ll see what happens, even with Khabib, you know?” Holloway said. “Khabib says he wants something really interesting. Maybe I pushed him a bit overboard. We had one of the best press conferences in the world, I think. We just didn’t have the fight. We could fill it out if he wanted to.

If Holloway’s aspirations for a fight with Nurmagomedov hit a wall, a trilogy with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is likely in the cards, White says if the champion overtakes Brian Ortega in March.

Holloway and Volkanovski have faced each other twice before – Volkanovski (22-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) winning a unanimous decision and a split decision. Holloway doesn’t take Volkanovski’s distaste for a third meeting lightly.

“Volkanovsky said – these are his words not mine – he said he wanted a different fight. He doesn’t want a tougher fight, guys, ”Holloway said. “Let it sink in: he wants a different fight. He didn’t say, “I want a tougher challenge.” He knows what the toughest challenge is. He knows it’s me. At the end of the day, I’m not going to force someone to fight. I’m going to stay ready and do whatever I have to do and be ready.