If we’re to see a rematch between Conor McGregor and the first man to take him the distance, then it’s looking increasingly likely that it will take place at lightweight.
In McGregor’s second outing under the UFC banner, he was tasked with facing young Hawaiian prospect Max Holloway.
‘The Notorious’ injured his knee badly in the bout, which was subsequently turned into a grappling exhibition, and McGregor claimed a unanimous decision back in 2013.
Since then, Holloway has gone 9-0 in the UFC and required the judges on just three occasions as he matured into one of the greatest featherweights walking the planet.
He gets the first chance to fight for UFC gold this weekend, when he stands opposite former WEC and UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis for the interim featherweight title in the main event of UFC 206.
A victory would set up a match-up with the recently promoted Jose Aldo, who has been handed McGregor’s stripped undisputed belt, but, make no mistake about it, Holloway’s sights are set on the 155lbs division.
Just last week, ‘Blessed’ announced that he would be willing to rematch the Irishman at any weight class.
“First things first, I’ve got Pettis,” Holloway told MMA Fighting. “But you know, a McGregor fight can happen anyway. He said 155, 170, I recently said I’ll go ahead and fight heavyweight if he wants to fight heavyweight.”
What’s decidedly more likely is a tilt for McGregor’s UFC lightweight title at some stage in the future.
.@BlessedMMA loves his food @f3liciathegoat pic.twitter.com/JSyh6RkxJq
— UFC (@ufc) December 6, 2016
And Holloway has revealed that he has already spoken to the UFC about potentially moving up in weight however those requests have since gone ignored.
“I am sure I’m going to move up to lightweight,” Holloway said on Tuesday. “I just turned 25 on the 4th. I’m Polynesian. I’m Hawaiian/Samoan and I love food so I’m definitely going to be stepping up.
“I don’t know how. I don’t know when. The weight cut to 145lbs has been great to me so far so I ain’t thinking.
“I’ve been asking to go up to 155lbs but they haven’t been answering my requests but yes, I’m definitely going up.”
McGregor is scheduled to take an extended break from the UFC, with Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson vying for the first defence of his 155lbs title.
But who’s to say that Holloway isn’t undisputed featherweight champion by then and isn’t rewarded with the chance to become the second man in UFC history to hold a title in two separate weight classes simultaneously, with McGregor being the first.
We’d certainly be interested in seeing McGregor vs. Holloway II.
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