LAS VEGAS -- As a former featherweight king and ceremonial BMF champion who has taken part in some of the biggest UFC fights of his era, Max Holloway knows just how quickly the fortunes of a fighter can change in an instant.
In March, the 34-year-old living legend from Hawaii was licking his wounds from a shutout loss on the scorecards over five rounds against Charles Oliveira in their rematch for the BMF title. Holloway (27-9) was badly outwrestled in this UFC 326 headliner and had no answers for "Do Bronx" in a result that appeared to cool off a two-year stretch of reinvention that saw Holloway defeat Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier.
Four months later, however, Holloway is headlining International Fight Week at UFC 329 on Saturday inside T-Mobile Arena in a star-studded rematch with a returning Conor McGregor (22-6) some 13 years in the making. And should Holloway avenge one of his earliest UFC defeats in this welterweight bout, he's likely the frontrunner to become the next lightweight title challenger in his long-coveted quest to become a two-division champion.
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"The UFC likes throwing curveballs," Holloway told CBS Sports on Tuesday. "If you told me after fighting my last fight that I was fighting Conor McGregor next fight, I would be like, 'You are on drugs.' At the end of the day, we are here. Who is to say that I don't go out there and have another big moment?"
The big moment Holloway is referencing, of course, was his last-second knockout of Gaethje in their BMF title bout at UFC 300 in 2024. And it's funny how MMA math works considering it took an equally big moment -- unbeaten Ilia Topuria, who knocked became the only man to knock out Holloway in 2024, losing by upset TKO to Gaethje for the 155-pound title in June at the White House -- to completely change Holloway's potential future plans.
"I think [Gaethje-Topuria changed] a lot, I think [it changed] a lot," Holloway said. "We are in the entertainment business, a lot of these guys forget. You not only have to win in this sport, you have to win and be entertaining. I'm excited. My odds are high and I just have to go out there and do my part."
The "entertainment" reference is likely a subtle dig at Oliveira, who appeared to violate the spirit of a BMF title bout by committing so aggressively to leaning on his grappling advantages against Holloway, and now appears to be on the outside looking in of a crowded lightweight title picture despite owning a first-round submission win over Gaethje in their 2022 bout for the vacant 155-pound title.
Holloway said he wasn't surprised that Gaethje defeated Topuria as much as he was by how he did it.
"I was shocked how many people didn't give Gaethje a shot, actually," Holloway said. "I knew he could win. I thought he was going to have kicks but he outboxed a good boxer in there and a power puncher. He did what he did with boxing, that's what blew my mind. I knew he could win and I thought he could, especially with the grit and stuff. It showed with Gaethje that you can't count that man out. He's an animal."
Does that mean you also can't count out a legend such as McGregor?
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Even though "The Notorious," who turns 38 on July 14, is returning from a five-year layoff and a broken leg suffered against Poirier in their 2021 trilogy, the fact that the former two-division champion is such a big star means he's always seemingly one win away from instant title contention. And none of that is lost on the advantageous Holloway, who was just 21 when he lost a three-round decision to McGregor at a UFC Fight Night event in Boston in 2013.
"A lot of people keep talking about how if Conor can somehow pull it off, he has two title shots [lightweight and/or BMF] waiting for him," Holloway said. "It takes two to tango. That means that if I go out and do my thing, I have two title shots waiting for me. It's a huge legacy fight, especially with all of the eyes. You guys all saw the presales and how fast it went. You all saw the [ticket] prices.
"We have other big events like the World Cup going on and still, people are talking more about Holloway-McGregor II. At the end of the day, it's a great position to be in."
One could argue that Holloway is the king of reinvention at the UFC elite level and has become almost a modern day Randy Couture from the standpoint of suffering a devastating defeat (like his knockout loss to Topuria) that breeds the whispers of critics questioning his future only for "Blessed" to return and remind us how much tread he still has on the tires by scoring a big win.
Because of that perspective, Holloway fully respects what McGregor is trying to do with such an audacious comeback considering his age, inactivity and recent injury history.
"It just shows what kind of warrior [McGregor] is," Holloway said. "I see a lot of people counting him out but, bro, if I was in the same situation, I would be doing the same thing. It just shows the warrior mentality he has: how much money he has in the bank, the injury he had to come back from, the five-year layoff. We are here now so I have nothing but respect for the man for doing that.
"At the end of the day, I see where he's coming from. The bad part for him is that he's fighting me. He has to see me in the Octagon. He had a choice and he chose the wrong one."
Holloway could only laugh when the topic of McGregor's recent trash talk came up from the satellite interview between the two of them that ran during the UFC Freedom 250 broadcast in June. McGregor constantly referred to Holloway as his "child" and "son" as a reference to his 2013 victory.
It was during their first meeting that McGregor suffered a serious leg injury and surprisingly relied upon his wrestling to control Holloway and win a decision.
"If 'sonning' someone is taking someone down and holding them for three rounds, then he's absolutely right," Holloway said. "So, at the end of the day, it is what it is. Whatever it takes for him that he needs to keep telling himself to get to Saturday night, do whatever you got to do because I just want you to make that walk. The beautiful thing is that on Saturday night, we get to find out."
Even though he appears to still be competing at a level close to his fighting prime, which included a 13-fight win streak and a pair of featherweight title stoppage wins over Jose Aldo, Holloway is already a mainstay in the UFC record book after making his 2012 debut at the age of 20.
Holloway currently ranks first in UFC history for total fight time and significant strikes landed. He's also tied for fourth in most wins (five away from Jim Miller's record of 28) and tied for third in knockouts (five away from Derrick Lewis' record of 16).
"Guys calling me pillow hands!" Holloway said. "The stats say something else. Joke's on you."
Earlier this year, some considered Topuria to be unbeatable in his new weight class amid talks of moving up once more to welterweight to try and become the first three-division champion by challenging pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev. Yet, here we are, just a few months later and Holloway, should he defeat McGregor as the betting favorite, possibly on the verge of securing a shot at becoming a two-division champion.
Anything can happen in the crazy world of elite mixed martial arts. So, what should we expect come Saturday?
"Mystic Max is going to go out there and put them hands on him," Holloway said. "I hope he likes swimming because we are going to drown him."
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