Max Holloway had about four minutes to bask in his UFC interim featherweight win, on Saturday night, when he was getting teed up for a title unification bout with José Aldo.
UFC president Dana White intimated that February 11 at UFC 209, in Brooklyn, would be an ideal date for Holloway to meet the man that benefited most from Conor McGregor leaving the division.
Holloway is back in Hawaii and eager to bask in his victory over Anthony Pettis and to catch up with friends and family. He is also pushing for the UFC to bring a big event to Hawaii. As he told The MMA Hour:
“A great man once said, ‘This is big game hunting’. Well, I just bagged me a f**king lion.”
Aldo has not fought since winning an interim title of his own back at July’s UFC 200 in Las Vegas. Having threatened to retire back in September, the Brazilian has now been elevated to out-right featherweight champion but he will have to end Holloway’s 10-fight win streak if he is to be truly regarded as the undisputed champ. Aldo told MMA Junkie:
“The date [of February 11] is certain. I’ll fight that day, whether it’s with him or somebody else. Whether he’ll show up or not is his problem.”
Holloway is on top of his game right now and is not in the mood to be dictated to by Aldo. He said:
“He wants to retire, he wants to be a soccer player and now he’s a f**king matchmaker.
“Like I said before, UFC needs to send his ass to the Cleveland Clinic and check his brain out… I said it before – I don’t want to give up Christmas and I’m not giving up my son’s birthday on January 4 for February 11 and the guy don’t show up.”
Holloway says he wants to go for “brunch” with the new UFC management when he travels to Las Vegas for UFC 207 in Las Vegas.
