After retaining his BMF belt at UFC 318, what’s next for Max Holloway?

In the main event this past Saturday night at UFC 318, the BMF title was on the line. Max Holloway (27-8) was looking to become the first man to defend the BMF belt while simultaneously playing the ultimate spoiler by defeating Dustin Poirier (30-10) in his retirement fight.

Holloway entered the bout 0-2 against Dustin Poirier, but it was clear in the first round that this was a different Max Holloway. Holloway dropped and hurt Poirier bad in the first round. Poirier survived but was hurt badly again in the second round. Holloway was cruising and then Poirier dropped him near the end of the second round.

From there, both men had their moments over the final fifteen minutes. Holloway was always just a step ahead of Poirier and while there were big shots landed by Poirier, Holloway was doubling him up with his combinations. In the final ten seconds of the fight, Holloway put a stamp on his victory by pointing to the ground and lighting up Poirier. In the end, it was a unanimous decision win for Max Holloway at UFC 318.

What’s next after UFC 318?

Following the win, Holloway made it clear that he wants a rematch with Ilia Topuria. That said, he deferred to Dustin Poirier to take the mic while they were inside the octagon. If you ask me, Holloway has a great case for the next shot at Ilia Topuria.

After Topuria knocked out Charles Oliveira to become the UFC lightweight champion, the short list of contenders seemed to be Justin Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan, and Paddy Pimblett. Holloway knocked Gaethje out cold last year and I don’t think the UFC is going to give the next shot to Tsarukyan after he fell out of his title fight in January the day of weigh-ins.

If the promotion goes with the money fight, Paddy Pimblett will get the next shot. However, if they want the best possible fight, I think Holloway could easily get that fight next. Should Holloway not get the title fight, I think a matchup with Dan Hooker for the BMF belt makes a lot of sense.

In that scenario, Gaethje and Tsarukyan would fight and Pimblett would get the next title shot. I could also see the UFC entertaining a BMF title fight between Holloway and Pimblett. Whoever would win that matchup would do big business against Ilia Topuria.