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Max Holloway has given the UFC a clear set of options following his win over Conor McGregor at UFC 329 on July 11 in Las Vegas. Speaking on his Kick channel, Holloway said he is willing to wait for a McGregor trilogy but will be looking for a lightweight title shot if that fight does not materialize, with Justin Gaethje as his preferred opponent.
“If it’s not Conor, give your boy a title shot,” Holloway said. “Me and Justin got history. You know it’s gonna be a striking war, so why not?”
The UFC 329 bout ended in the opening seconds when McGregor suffered a knee injury immediately after the fight began, giving the rematch an anticlimactic conclusion after 13 years of buildup. McGregor originally beat Holloway by unanimous decision at UFC 189 back in 2013, and Holloway’s win last weekend leveled the score at one apiece.
Both men have called for a third fight, but McGregor is now heading into surgery for his knee injury with an uncertain recovery timeline, leaving Holloway’s next move genuinely open. The Gaethje option carries significant weight.
Holloway knocked out Gaethje with one second remaining in the fight at UFC 300 in one of the most breathtaking finishes in UFC history, a moment that won him the BMF title. He went on to make the first successful defense of that belt against Dustin Poirier before losing it to Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 earlier this year. Gaethje, meanwhile, has not been standing still since that knockout loss. He defeated Paddy Pimblett to become a two-time interim lightweight champion in January before finishing Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 in June to claim the undisputed lightweight title.
Gaethje has not yet confirmed whether he will return to defend the title or retire on the high note of the White House win. Now, fight fans and Holloway will have to wait.
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