Dana White sees Max Holloway in 'great position,' open to Ilia Topuria rematch

USA Today

20-07-2025

Max Holloway is not out of the title picture.
NEW ORLEANS – Max Holloway's future is looking promising, and it's got the backing of UFC CEO Dana White.
Holloway (27-8 MMA, 23-8 UFC) defended his "Baddest Motherf*cker" title this past Saturday in the main event of UFC 318. He did so by handing veteran Dustin Poirier (30-10 MMA, 22-9 UFC) a unanimous decision defeat for his retirement fight in his home state of Louisiana. In his successful return to lightweight, Holloway was able to bounce back from his KO loss in his UFC featherweight title fight against Ilia Topuria, who has since vacated the belt and is now champion at 155 pounds.
Some would think that Holloway is in a bad spot, having recently lost to Topuria. However, White thinks otherwise.
"I think he's in a great position right now," White said at the UFC 318 post-fight press conference. "He just defended that BMF title, he's ranked No. 4 there. Anything is possible for Max right now."
When asked directly about a potential rematch with Topuria, and this time with the BMF belt up for grabs too, White seemed keen on the idea.
Holloway finds himself 4-1 in his past five performances. The defeat to Topuria was the first time he was knocked out in his career. The Hawaiian won the BMF belt by knocking out Justin Gaethje back at UFC 300 in 2024, and became the first person to successfully defend the title this past Saturday.
Meanwhile, Topuria claims to be the BMF champion along with his UFC lightweight belt. He owns an unofficial BMF title and has been seen in many photos and videos with it ever since he stopped Holloway. The bout between Topuria and Holloway last October was exclusively for the UFC featherweight title, Holloway's BMF belt was not officially on the line.