Max Holloway: Betting Odds For His Next Opponent After UFC 318

Forbes

5 days ago

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JULY 19: Max Holloway prepares to face Dustin Poirier in the BMF ... More championship bout during the UFC 318 event at Smoothie King Center on July 19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC)
Max Holloway walked into the Octagon on Saturday with the BMF title around his waist and a 0-2 record against his foe in the UFC 318 main event, Dustin Poirier. After 25 minutes of back-and-forth action, Holloway had the BMF title wrapped around his waist by Lil Wayne, who had walked to the cage with Louisiana native Poirier, after his unanimous decision win over Poirier. With Poirier retiring after UFC 318, most of the talk surrounded Holloway's next fight.
We look at who the former UFC featherweight champion, now a full-time lightweight, could face following UFC 318.
"I think he's in a great position right now,' UFC CEO Dana White said when asked about Holloway's options after UFC 318. 'He just defended that BMF title, he's ranked No. 4 there [lightweight]When asked if he thought that UFC lightweight champ Ilia Topuria could fight Holloway for the BMF title, White smiled and said, 'Yes, I do.'
That fight would be a rematch. Before moving to lightweight to capture the UFC 155-pound title with a knockout win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 317, Topuria handed Holloway his first career knockout loss, stopping him in the third-round of their UFC 308 matchup.
That knockout win was Topuria last fight as a featherweight. Topuria won the title in February 2024 with a knockout win over Alexander Volkanovski. The Holloway win was his only attempted defense of his crown.
Topuria is the No. 1 fighter in the official UFC pound-for-pound rankings. Holloway entered UFC 318 as the No. 11 fighter in those rankings.
Holloway did call out Topuria in his post-fight interview without using his name.
'A lot of (expletives) are coming after this BMF belt,' Holloway said. 'Come get me!
'And I got some history with the champ. So, UFC, it's your move next, baby.'
Holloway also mentioned Charles Oliveira as a potential opponent in his next trip to the Octagon.
'There's also Oliveira, I heard he was yapping saying our first fight was with injuries. He had an injury when we fought. But last time I check, when they did a follow-up and wanted to find what the injury was, there was no injury report on it,' Holloway said on the UFC's About Last Fight. 'They said he was fine. So I have no idea what the (expletive) he is talking about.'
Holloway and Oliveira fought in 2015. That fight ended in 69 seconds into the first round when Oliveira suffered an injury. That injury was later revealed to be a micro-tear of Oliveira's esophagus.
Holloway has a career record of 27-8. He is 4-1 in his past five outings with his only loss coming to Topuria. He holds many UFC records, including most significant strikes landed (3,655) and most strikes landed (3,907).
Odds On Who Max Holloway Will Face Next
Charles Oliveira: +210
Ilia Topuria: +300
Arman Tsarukyan: +650
Paddy Pimblett: +650
Alexander Volkanovski: +700
Brian Ortega: +700
Movsar Evloev: +750
Arnold Allen: +850
Aljamain Sterling: +1000
*Odds via Bovada
We will have more on Max Holloway and his next opponent when that fight is announced.