Video: Max Holloway Moving to UFC Lightweight Division After KO Loss vs. Ilia Topuria
Max Holloway is ready to take on a new challenge.
The UFC Fighter announced on his YouTube Channel that he will be leaving the featherweight division and transitioning to the lightweight division.
The move comes after Holloway fell to Illia Topuria in a UFC featherweight title clash on Oct. 26 at UFC 308 in the first knockout loss of his career.
Holloway said the decision to move up in weight class had to do with the difficult cutting weight process and his desire to fight without that overwhelming stress.
"I think I'm done with the 145," Holloway said. "155, here we come and 155 is where I want to say. This is a new chapter, this is where we start and this is where we begin. I am super excited for it, I cannot wait."
He acknowledged that he "can never say never" about a potential return to featherweight but said that he is confident the move to lightweight will be permanent.
The 32-year-old has a 26-8 overall record and had won his previous three fights. This was his fourth consecutive loss for reclaiming the featherweight championship and he has not held the honor since 2019.
He defeated Justin Gaethje in a lightweight bout in April and now will look to build his resume in a new weight class.
