"I'll fight him" - Max Holloway on challenging Francis Ngannou despite the size difference
Max Holloway is ready to go to any lengths for capturing the number one spot on the pound-for-pound rankings. The former UFC featherweight champion recently made an outlandish call-out to fight heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou.
Speaking with Brendan Schaub on Food Truck Diaries, Max Holloway gave his take on what makes a fighter the pound-for-pound best in the world. The Hawaiian believes that fighters who are ready to jump between weight divisions and take on any challenge deserve a spot on the P4P list.
"What is this pound-for-pound rankings? My mindset is -- in the old gladiator days, they did not walk around with a scale and be like, "Wait, you're too heavy for me. I'm out of here." No... number one pound-for-pound guy should be willing to fight anybody in the world.
Max Holloway currently fights in the featherweight division of the UFC. The 145 lbs fighter mentioned that he won't even retreat from a hypothetical fight against 'The Predator' Francis Ngannou.
That's what I think. What if Max was the size of Francis? I never will be but I will fight him. You think I'm scared of him? I will fight that guy. You want to see the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, that's somebody whose mindset is this", said Max Holloway.
Max Holloway will make the switch to bigger weight classes in the future
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on ESPN MMA, Max Holloway revealed that he will end his career fighting in the 155 or the 170 lbs weight class. Holloway had taken on Dustin Poirier at UFC 236. However, after a five round back-and-forth, Holloway lost his lightweight venture to the Diamond.
The fight camp for the Poirier fight was just two months long, according to Max Holloway. 'Blessed' would like to fully commit and spend a longer training camp for his jump to 155 lbs in the future.
"Two months later, I was fighting back at 145 (lbs). So the intriguing question to everybody is... "when is Max going to commit to 155 fully and not do this jump around stuff." We will see what happens... I think I will end my career at 155 or maybe even a fully committed 170lbs."