Islam Makhachev vacated the lightweight title and bolted for welterweight and newly-crowned 155-pound champion Ilia Topuria has yet to defend the division strap, so it’s still anybody’s ballgame when it comes to scoring the next crack at the lightweight crown.
Which could be awarded to No. 10-ranked contender Paddy Pimblett.
That might not sit well with some of the “angry” lightweights patiently waiting for their respective turns, even under the threat of retirement, but ex-featherweight champion Max
Holloway, now a permanent resident at 155 pounds, understands how the game is played.
“People forget we’re in the entertainment business,” Holloway told MMA Fighting. “That’s what fighting is. We’re entertainment, and whoever sells those seats, that’s what the UFC is going to do. We have [Dana White] talking about how Arman [Tsarukyan] is taking the right step to getting a title shot again, which is insane, and with Justin Gaethje saying about a title shot, I mean my last ‘55 fight, I did what I did and now I’m here at ‘55. It’s just weird.”
Holloway, who already scored a victory over Oliveira, stopped Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 early last year. If “Blessed” can defeat Dustin Poirier atop the UFC 318 pay-per-view (PPV) card this weekend in New Orleans, he’ll hold wins over three of the Top 6 contenders.
Even so, he may still take a back seat to the “super good” Pimblett.
“It’s mixed martial arts, anybody can win,” Holloway said. “Everybody can say we saw Paddy get cracked. I saw myself get cracked a bunch of times and when Ilia hit me, we saw what we saw. At the end of the day, it’s mixed martial arts. I think Paddy and his team will prepare right for that fight. I think they’ll have a game plan and he’s no slouch.”
The promotion has yet to book Topuria’s first title defense.
“A lot of people thought Paddy was this guy who just talks and runs his mouth and then he got to prove himself against a guy like [Michael] Chandler,” Holloway added. “He’s not a wrestler but he out-wrestled the wrestler, which was pretty crazy to see. He’s super good. This is mixed martial arts. It’s what’s going on that day and whoever can apply their game plan that they’ve been doing, you never know.”
Hopefully matchmakers will have some answers in the wake of UFC 318.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 318 fight card right RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN2/ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 318 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 318: “Holloway vs. Poirier 3” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 318 fight card and PPV lineup click here.
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