‘I want Khabib 2.0’… Max Holloway wants to make history by fighting Islam Makhachev following UFC 308

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‘I want Khabib 2.0’… Max Holloway wants to make history by fighting Islam Makhachev following UFC 308

Regardless of the result between Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 this coming Saturday, the Blessed Express will continue rolling and he has a plethora of options moving forward.

The UFC 308 main event this coming Saturday between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway is one of the most highly anticipated fights of the year with many fans highlighting it as potentially the best fight this year.

In Holloway’s last fight, he once again catapulted himself into superstardom with a huge knockout win over Justin Gaethje at lightweight, winning the BMF title.

With that, he set himself up for many options moving forward, one of which is a potential shot at the 155lb title, regardless of the result of his fight against ‘El Matador’.

(L-R) Opponents Ilia Topuria of Spain and Max Holloway face off during the UFC 308 press conference at Etihad Arena on October 24, 2024 in Abu Dhab... — Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Max Holloway wants to etch his name on MMA Mount Rushmore by fighting Islam Makhachev

‘Blessed’ Holloway is already considered one of the greatest fighters to ever step foot in the UFC Octagon, however, he is potentially eyeing up making history after UFC 308 as he has spoken about the idea of fighting ‘Khabib 2.0’, Islam Makhachev.

Back in 2018, Holloway attempted to step in on just a week’s notice to take on Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 after Tony Ferguson withdrew from the bout due to injury.

After a rough weight cut, Holloway was pulled from the fight and never got to compete for the undisputed lightweight title. However, after a successful recent move back up to the division, the 32-year-old is now considering the idea of making history by becoming the first fighter to win three different titles.

“I want to get my face etched on the MMA Mount Rushmore next to your face, brother,” Holloway told Demetrious Johnson in an interview on his YouTube channel.

“And the things you’ve got to do (to get to that), you’ve got to do great things like you said, we had that fight booked with Khabib a while back and they call Islam ‘Khabib 2.0’ so I want all the smoke, it’d be an honor to fight that guy and try to etch my name into the history books.

“First things first, it’s Ilia, but if I had my choice, why not be able to fight Islam, Islam never wanted to fight me, even when I was saying I was coming up to (155lbs), after fighting the guy that he was supposed to fight next… But then recently his tone changed… I was like, okay, that’s all we needed,” Holloway continued.

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Max Holloway talks about potentially rematching Conor McGregor in his comeback

Although Holloway would prefer to fight Makhachev next for the lightweight title, ‘Blessed’ has also talked about a potential rematch with the returning, Conor McGregor.

The two first met back in 2013 in what was McGregor’s second UFC outing, and the Irishman picked up the decision win.

More recently, ‘The Notorious’ has backed Holloway to defeat Topuria as he and the Spaniard have begun somewhat of an online feud.

With McGregor scheduled to return to action in the first quarter of next year, and now without an opponent, there are many suitors for the 36-year-old.

“I mean, anyone that sits here and tells you they won’t fight Conor McGregor is talking out their ass. I think DJ would come out of retirement to fight him, to be honest,” Holloway joked with Johnson.

“I tell people all the time, bro, I’ve got a job, we saw what he did to one guy (Michael Chandler) making him wait forever so I’m not too crazy about it but if the opportunity came, you’d be dumb as hell to not take that fight,” Holloway admitted.