Under the bright lights of UFC 326, Max Holloway returns to defend the BMF title against former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in a matchup many fans have quickly framed as striker versus grappler.
Holloway (27-8) sees it differently. To the Hawaiian star, this isn’t a clash of styles but a meeting of two complete mixed martial artists.
“I think he’s a BMF. I think it’s fitting for sure. A lot of people are making this fight to be a striker versus grappler. They got it all wrong,” Holloway told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.
“He was a Jiu-Jitsu guy before and now he’s an MMA guy. A lot of his submission wins have been coming from striking first. He’s hurting these guys on the feet then he’s submitting them. That’s pretty BMF thing to do. Nothing but love for him.”
Holloway acknowledged that their first meeting left a sense of unfinished business, both for himself and for fans who expected a different kind of fight. Now, with the BMF belt on the line at UFC 326, he believes the rematch offers the perfect opportunity to settle the score.
“At the end of the day the first fight it was a let down. I’m not going to even lie about it. I think a lot of people is disappointed and I think a lot of people don’t even count it. It’s on the record, but it is what it is. We’re here, we get to right that wrong, and I’m excited for it,” he said.
The UFC lightweight title remains the goal for Holloway. While he would love to hold both the undisputed championship and the BMF belt simultaneously, he acknowledged that the UFC may not allow it. If it came down to choosing which belt to give up, however, the decision would be an easy one.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. It would be cool to have two of the, but they’re making everybody only have one belt,” Holloway said.
“The one belt that I’m going to drop is definitely gonna be the BMF one when we get that undisputed one.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Max Holloway above. He defends his BMF title against Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 on Saturday night.
