Max Holloway: Instead of begging for one payday, ‘be the damn payday yourself’

Max Holloway has wanted a rematch against Conor McGregor for ages. But with the UFC featherweight champion testing the waters in other divisions and Jose Aldo now holding the interim strap, Holloway knows it’s very unlikely that another fight with the Irishman will ever come to fruition.

“The entertaining thing is that — I’m not stupid — I know there are two belts in the division,” Holloway told BloodyElbow.com’s The MMA Circus. “Conor having the undisputed one, and Aldo having the interim. I understand that they need to fight each other. They have to. No matter how bad I want to fight Conor, that’s just not going to happen.”

Holloway isn’t sure what McGregor’s next move will be. No one is, according to the 24-year-old, except for McGregor himself. Will McGregor return to featherweight to unify the belt with Aldo? Will he challenge Eddie Alvarez for the 155-pound title? Is a trilogy fight with Nate Diaz already in the works? Only time will tell, Holloway says.

But one thing Holloway does know is that he is next in line to fight for the undisputed championship against Aldo if McGregor does not return to the featherweight division.

“For sure. It’s the only fight,” he said. “What other fight is there? I beat everybody that’s behind me. There’s one guy in front of me (besides McGregor and Aldo) that I’ve been begging to fight in Frankie Edgar. But he just came off a loss to the guy. I think I’m the only guy that — if Conor doesn’t come back, I think Aldo would be interested in fighting me, too. It’s some new blood. I think I am the only guy in the 145-pound division that, if Conor chooses not to come back down, gets to fight Aldo.

“The thing is, if Conor goes up, I think I’m the next one in line. But if Conor comes back down, he has to fight Aldo then, and I gotta fight one more. That’s just the way it plays out. We’ve seen some more crazy sh-t in the UFC, so we’ll see what happens.”

Despite his impressive nine-fight winning streak, fan-friendly style, and activeness, Holloway has yet to receive a title shot. But he doesn’t feel like the UFC owes him one, either, nor does he have any ill will towards the organization.

“I don’t feel like I’m owed anything,” he said. “I always say, ‘Earned, not given.’ If I gotta keep showing these guys that I’m the best guy in the division, then so be it. I want a title shot …

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