Max Holloway has set his sights on Ilia Topuria once more, and this time he needs every part on the desk. The BMF champion is focusing on a path that runs by Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 and leads straight to a rematch with Topuria for each the BMF strap and the undisputed light-weight title.
Max Holloway Eyes Ilia Topuria Rematch After UFC 326 Conflict With Charles Oliveira
Chatting with TNT Sports activities, Holloway laid out his perfect state of affairs, referencing their first assembly and the stakes he needs subsequent time. “In an ideal world, we go on the market, get my hand raised, and do it very fashionably—make it simple, make a second. Then go get Ilia, with the BMF title on the road and the undisputed title as effectively,” Holloway mentioned. He added that Topuria “was speaking in regards to the final one at 145, however the title wasn’t on the road,” and pushed the accountability again towards the promotion: “You’ll be able to’t be mad at me—be mad on the UFC. They didn’t permit it.”
Holloway’s frustration is straightforward to know given how the primary struggle ended. Topuria stopped him in the principle occasion of UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi on October 26, 2024, defending the featherweight title with a 3rd‑spherical knockout that handed Holloway the primary KO lack of his profession. A proper hand damage Holloway, a left hook dropped him, and observe‑up floor‑and‑pound pressured the stoppage.
He captured the BMF belt by knocking out Justin Gaethje with a stroll‑off proper hand within the ultimate seconds of their struggle at UFC 300, a end that immediately turned one of many defining moments of the cardboard. He then moved full time to light-weight and outpointed Dustin Poirier in a trilogy bout at UFC 318, changing into the primary BMF champion to log a profitable protection. The UFC has now booked Holloway to defend the BMF title towards former light-weight champion Charles Oliveira in a rematch at UFC 326 on March 7, 2026, at T‑Cell Area in Las Vegas.
Topuria’s place has modified simply as dramatically. After knocking out Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298 to win the featherweight belt, he defended towards Holloway at UFC 308, then moved up and knocked out Oliveira within the first spherical at UFC 317 to assert the vacant light-weight title and develop into a two‑division champion. Alongside the best way he spoke repeatedly about his struggles making 145 kilos and instructed his featherweight run was nearing its finish, which frames Holloway’s comment about “the final one at 145” and the belt not being at stake.
The light-weight landscape is crowded. An interim title struggle between Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett at UFC 324 will produce a compulsory challenger for Topuria. Topuria has indicated curiosity in going through the winner, whereas Holloway is attempting to power his method into that dialog by tying his BMF reign to a bid for undisputed gold.
For Holloway, the equation is easy: beat Oliveira once more at UFC 326, preserve the BMF belt, and go away the UFC with a profitable storyline, revenge towards the one man to cease him, with two titles on the road.
