Champ Max Holloway sees four-title future, but wants featherweight GOAT status first

DETROIT – The sky is the limit for UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway after his win over Jose Aldo in the UFC 218 main event. His current plans, however, are solely based around defending his belt as long as possible.

Holloway (19-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) put on a repeat performance of his title-winning victory over Aldo (26-4 MMA, 8-3 UFC) at UFC 212 in June when he stopped “Scarface” by third-round TKO in Saturday’s UFC 218 headliner, which took place at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

The scintillating performance marked Holloway’s 12th consecutive octagon victory, putting him in rare company in terms of the longest winning streaks in UFC history. “Blessed” said at UFC 218’s post-fight news conference, which MMAjunkie attended, that he doesn’t see himself slowing down any time soon. If things continue to go his way, Holloway not only sees himself being the best 145-pound champion ever, but could also take belts in multiple other weight classes.

“The only thing that’s going to stop me is medically, or I can’t make the weight,” Holloway said. “I’m not going to force my body to do something it doesn’t want to. I’ll go up to 155. I was talking to Michael Bisping and them on the (FS1 post-fight) show and Michael was like, ‘Can you win another title?’ … I was like, ‘Michael, you’re cutting Maxi Baby short.’ Us Hawaiians love to eat. I want to go for four titles. (155), 170, 185. I might even be at heavyweight one day. You guys know our eating habits are bad in Hawaii. One day I might make history.

“This is what champions do,” he continued. “Champions defend. You’re not a champion until you defend your title. I always want to bring stability (to the division). I want to prove to people, if you want to be a champion, this is how you do it. It took me 10 fights to get an interim belt and 11 to get the undisputed. I don’t want anybody else to go through that. I want to be like (Demetrious Johnson), the guys pop up and you get sent down to the bottom of the barrel, bother. Keep trying to catch up.”

It wasn’t long ago when Aldo held an undeniable status as the best featherweight in MMA history. Holloway beat the Brazilian twice back-to-back, though, and now the conversation has to be reconsidered. Aldo still holds many of the all-time records in the division, including a record seven consecutive title defenses. Holloway said he won’t consider his legacy superior until he breaks all those records.

“This is huge,” Holloway said. “People ask what this makes me. It makes me a guy with two wins over Aldo and I got a bunch more to catch up to him. He’s the greatest of all time. He got seven, eight title defenses. I’ve got to catch up. Numbers don’t lie. Women lie, men lie, but numbers don’t lie. I’ve only got one defense. I’ve got a bunch of catching up to do. He’s still the GOAT, I still respect him and I’m coming for that record, though.”

Holloway’s outlook on being a champion is increasingly rare in the sport’s current landscape. Many titleholders are looking to cash in on super fights or change weight classes, but that’s not how Holloway intends to move forward with his career – at least not yet, anyway.

The Hawaiian said he wants to be a classic type of champion who is willing to take on all comers. So when it comes to the discussion about his next opponent, he said he simply doesn’t care who is standing across the octagon, because he intends on beating everyone at least once, anyway.

“These guys are cupcakes – I want the new flavor,” Holloway said. “I want to know what the new flavor tastes like. I know how the other ones tastes, so that’s great, that’s fine. I’ll fight them all. They’re going to all take Ls like I said. By the time I’m done with this division, when you look at the top 15, everybody is going to have an L next to their name. Some guys two, and you’re lucky, you’re going to have three.

“People want to get their money and leave the game, they want to set history or whatever and this and that,” he continued. “Right now I’m focused on champ life. I want to be a champion. I want to be a long-reigning featherweight champion. I want to be in the history books everywhere, as a champion and this and that. Later on my career when I start getting good then I can start doing exhibition matches for money and stuff. Right now, I think the world needs to know what a champion looks like and I’m trying to put my foot down and say, ‘This is what a champion looks like.’ I don’t cry about anything. If you think you’re the best, come fight ‘Blessed.'”

For complete coverage of UFC 218, check out the UFC Events section of the site.