Max Holloway was fuming last week when he realized he was still ranked inside the top 15 of the featherweight rankings.
This coming Saturday, Max Holloway returns to the Octagon for the first time since his devastating KO loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 when he takes on Dustin Poirier in the UFC 318 main event.
Just over a week out from their fight, Holloway alerted his fans that he had landed in Louisiana after some ‘little scares’ including flight delays and thunderstorms.
With a win over Poirier, ‘Blessed’ is hoping that he can secure himself a rematch against Ilia Topuria for the lightweight title, having discredited ‘El Matador’s’ recent legendary run.
Holloway granted pre-fight request ahead of UFC 318 title defence
This will mark Holloway’s first outing since he announced his permanent move up to the lightweight division, and his BMF title will be on the line.
Despite that, ahead of his fight, the 33-year-old had a gripe with the UFC as he was still ranked number one in the featherweight division although he announced he would never fight at the weight class again.
And ahead of his fight, Holloway requested that he was removed from the 145lb rankings, claiming ‘it’s ridiculous’.
Now just a few days out from his title defence in Louisiana, Holloway’s request has been granted as he has been officially removed from the featherweight top 15 in the rankings update this Tuesday.
Taking his spot at number one is undefeated Russian contender Movsar Evloev, who was scheduled to take on Aaron Pico in a number one contender fight at UFC Abu Dhabi but it was revealed yesterday that he is out of that clash.
Despite Holloway having been removed from the rankings, it still shows several flaws as Bryce Mitchell, who has announced his move down to bantamweight is now in the top 15.
Not only that but Calvin Kattar, who is currently riding a five fight losing streak is also ranked in the top 15 at 145lbs.
Could Max Holloway earn a lightweight title shot with a win at UFC 318?
After scoring an incredible KO over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, a win over ‘The Diamond’ at UFC 318 would put Holloway in a great position in the lightweight title picture.
At this point, it is unclear who ‘El Matador’ will make his first title defence against, meaning ‘Blessed’ could put himself on the list with an impressive win.