Max Holloway is open to defending his BMF title against Charles Oliveira.
Oliveira (34-10 MMA, 22-10 UFC) runs things back with Michael Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 309 (pay-per-view, ESPNews/Hulu/FX, ESPN+) co-headliner at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Upon hearing that Holloway will make a permanent move to lightweight, Oliveira told MMA Fighting that he’d be interested in facing him for the BMF title – and Holloway is more than happy to oblige.
“I heard Oliveira said he wanted to go for the BMF,” Holloway said on his YouTube channel. “That’s pretty cool. Oliveira, I know we have some history, and I know if that fight was ever offered to me, brother, it would be an honor to share the octagon with you, bro. You’re a beast, you’re an animal, and I can’t wait. I can’t wait for this fight. This fight (vs. Chandler) is huge.”
Holloway and Oliveira fought once before at featherweight in August 2015, with Holloway defeating “Do Bronx” by TKO less than two minutes into their fight due to injury. Holloway’s win over Oliveira was part of an impressive 13-fight winning streak, which resulted in “Blessed” capturing the UFC featherweight title.
Holloway is coming off a knockout loss to featherweight champion Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 in October. He announced his plans of moving back up to lightweight immediately after, where he recently knocked out Justin Gaethje to claim the BMF title at UFC 300 in April.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.
