5 reasons why Max Holloway should move to the UFC lightweight division in 2022
2022 is all set to be a big year for the UFC and for its biggest star fighters, and some of them already have major clashes booked – but one fighter that doesn’t is Max Holloway.
Max Holloway is a former UFC featherweight champion, but could a move up to 155lbs lie in the future for him this year?
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While ‘Blessed’ still sits at the top of the 145lbs division as the top contender to Alexander Volkanovski’s title, the truth is that a move up to the lightweight division could be the best move that Max Holloway could make right now.
With that in mind, here are five reasons why Max Holloway should move to the lightweight division in 2022.
#5. Max Holloway already has two losses to Alexander Volkanovski
Max Holloway might be ranked as the No.1 contender in the UFC featherweight division right now, but for many fans, the thought of him being granted a title shot in 2022 is a little difficult to stomach.
It isn’t that Max Holloway hasn’t earned a shot at the gold at 145lbs. After all, he enjoyed a fantastic 2021, defeating both Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez in impressive fashion. However, there’s one major problem with giving him a title shot in 2022.
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That problem is the fact that ‘Blessed’ has already lost to current UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski twice, and so to give him a third crack at the Australian seems a little like overkill right now.
At the end of the day, fresh title bouts are what keeps the UFC ticking – that’s why Volkanovski’s fight with Brian Ortega was so widely anticipated. Unfortunately for Max Holloway, a third fight with a man who beat him twice is the opposite of fresh. If anything, it’s a little stale.
Sure, you could argue that the Hawaiian deserved the nod in his second bout with ‘Alexander the Great’ at UFC 151, but the judges saw things the other way and that decision deserves respect.
More importantly for Holloway, what would happen if he were to lose a third fight with Volkanovski? Essentially, you could argue that his UFC career might be dead in the water.
With all of this considered, it’d be far better for ‘Blessed’ to simply cut his losses at featherweight – particularly while Volkanovski holds the title there – and move onto fresher pastures.