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In Holloway’s opinion, not even a sold out soccer stadium in Spain could match the hype that a rematch with Conor McGregor would deliver.

If Max Holloway could choose anyone to fight after his massive BMF belt win at UFC 300, it would be Conor McGregor.

Holloway and McGregor fought once before back in 2013 on the prelims of a UFC Fight Night card in Boston, Massachusetts. Conor blanked Max on the scorecards, even earning a 30-26 from one judge. So when Hawaii news reporter Rob DeMello asked him who he’d pick as a follow-up opponent to Justin Gaethje, “Blessed” suggested “The Notorious.”

“It would be hard not to say with him finally getting announced that he’s actually fighting, Conor 2,” Holloway said. “That’s the hugest fight, I think.”

“But legacy, ideal wise, trying to get back to an undisputed title?” he added. “Gotta go with [Ilia] Topuria. He beat the man that I couldn’t help but figure out. We’ll see. We’re having a little bible verse beef on top of Twitter right now, so you know, life’s good.”

Following Holloway’s UFC 300 win, Topuria called for a fight before the end of the year, adding Philippians 4:13 — “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Holloway replied with “I’ll be seeing you soon. Jeremiah 51:20” — “You are my battle-ax and sword. With you I will shatter nations and destroy many kingdoms.”

10-9 Holloway.

“It’s looking like it’s gonna be [Topuria] next,” Holloway concluded. “But first things first, Justin Gaethje kicks like a horse, man. Like a horse, and I can feel it today. Couple days later and I still feel it, so we’re gonna recover.”

As for that UFC 300 win, which saw “Blessed” knock out Gaethje with one second left on the clock, Max is still reveling in the moment.

“I wanna top it, but I can’t see it right now,” he admitted. “I can’t look in the future, but I know that I’m still here, I’m still young, we got a lot more to do. I’m sure I’ll top this moment. But right now, it’s gonna be a hard one to beat.”

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

The Mixed Martial Arts Hour is back in your life! Below is a rundown of Wednesday’s show, which begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT / 6 p.m. UK time.

1:05 p.m. ET: UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria discusses UFC 300 and what’s next for him.

1:35 p.m.: Bo Nickal breaks down his latest win at UFC 300 and what’s next for him.

2 p.m.: Jiri Prochazka returns after his big win over Aleksandar Rakic.

2:30 p.m.: Oscar De La Hoya drops by in studio to talk about the Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia showdown Saturday night.

3 p.m.: Mike Perry previews his upcoming showdown against Thiago Alves at BKFC Knucklemania 4.

3:30 p.m.: Yan Xiaonan reflects on her UFC 300 loss against Zhang Weili.

4 p.m.: Michael Chandler talks about finally get his showdown against Conor McGregor at UFC 303.

For latest episodes of The MMA Hour, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.

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Receiving stark criticizm for his performance en route to a dominant shutout win over Calvin Kattar in his featherweight debut at UFC 300 over the course of last weekend, former bantamweight champion, Aljamain Sterling claims he was going to retire from MMA if he lost.

Sterling, a former undisputed bantamweight titleholder, made his first outing inside the Octagon over the weekend since his August knockout loss to Sean O’Malley in the pair’s heated title fight at 135lbs.

And making good on his first venture at the featherweight limit, Sterling took on fellow East Coast star, Kattar – turning in a one-sided unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) victory over the Boston native, wrestling and grappling his way to a fist victory in the weight class. 

Aljamain Sterling reveals potential retirement at UFC 300

Receiving some notable criticizm from a vocal section of the mixed martial arts community for his grappling and wrestling-heavy game plan en route to his triumph, Sterling, who has landed at number eight in the official featherweight pile, revealed a defeat at UFC 300 would have likely ended his tenure in the sport.

“I think if I had got my ass completely handed kicked by Calvin Kattar, I was probably done,” Aljamain Sterling told MMA Fighting. “And no one knew about that. I didn’t share those sentiments with anybody, even my fiancee. It’s just one of those things.”

“I mentioned to her like, ‘Well, if I can’t beat him (Kattar), I don’t know,” Aljamain Sterling explained. “But I didn’t really go into detail what that actually meant. I just kind of said like, ‘We’ll see what happens. I don’t know what’s going to happen’. That’s kind of the way I kept it with everybody.”

Eyeing a potential title-eliminator in his sophomore outing at the featherweight limit, Serra-Longo MMA staple, Sterling weighed up the chance to fight either Movsar Evloev in his return, if not a clash with former title challenger, Brian Ortega next.

Who would you like to see Aljamain Sterling fight next?

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UFC

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MMA: Mixed Martial Arts

UFC

Bad Idea
| BJPenn.com

Bringing you the weird and wild from the world of MMA each and every weeknight!

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

Alex Pereira has one of the most unique careers in combat sports.

A two-division K-1 Kickboxing champion, Pereira transitioned into MMA at least in part because of his previous rivalry with Israel Adesanya, the UFC Middleweight king at the time. Before long, he had earned his way to a title shot versus “Stylebender,” and the two traded knockouts at the pinnacle of the sport.

After the Adesanya fights, Pereira opted to move to Light Heavyweight. A competitive decision win over Jan Blachowicz earned him a title shot versus Jiri Prochazka, and once again, the Brazilian’s otherworldly power proved the deciding factor. He stopped “BJP” in the second, setting up his first title defense against Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 300.

A flawless knockout win (despite a broken toe!) brings us up to date. In just eight UFC fights and less than three years, “Poatan” went from a relative unknown in the MMA world to two-division champion with five amazing knockout wins and a title defense. It doesn’t seem possible!

There are some drawbacks to joining the MMA world in your mid-30s, however. Notably, Pereira has struggled with the grappling of his opponents on a few occasions, showing inexperience in that realm. He’s been taken down by strikers like Blachowicz, Adesanya, and Prochazka, but somehow, it hasn’t actually cost him any defeats.

Pereira’s continued success surprises UFC analyst Daniel Cormier for that reason. On “Good Guy/Bad Guy,” Cormier discussed how Pereira is able to win fights without much depth in a fundamental aspect of fighting.

“I’m sitting there at night going, ‘How’s he doing this when, with all due respect because Alex and I have a great relationship, he can’t wrestle. He does not know how to wrestle,” Cormier said (via MMA Junkie).

“When they grab his leg, he kind of just falls down. He can’t wrestle. When he can’t wrestle, I’m like, ‘How is this happening when he can’t wrestle?’ But he has got this singular skillset that is so good that it does not matter what he can’t do. He’s so good at what he does that he’s now the best in the world.”

As mentioned, Pereira has mostly been fighting strikers. His next title defense may be against Dagestan’s Magomed Ankalaev, a Combat Sambo ace and fighter who would surely look to test Pereira’s wrestling improvements.

Unless a left hook lands before he shoots.

Insomnia

Add one more to the Max Holloway knocking out Justin Gaethje reaction pile:

I still highly doubt Sergei Pavlovich vs. Alexander Volkov is happening, but … we’ll see!

Humility is a good look.

I have to admit, this is a doper-than-average MMA shirt.

Are secret breathing strategies the key to defeating jiu-jitsu? I’m pretty sure Rickson Gracie used to claim to have the same ability to endure locked in chokes.

I’ve now seen clips of Jamahal Hill partying after each of his career losses, which were both brutal! Respect.

What does everyone think Jiri Prochazka will use his $ 300k bonus on? That’s a lot of katanas.

Carlos Diego Ferreira is underappreciated in the pantheon of Lightweight scrappers, and Mateus Rebecki is a quality prospect. Great booking!

Slips, rips, and KO clips

Double knockdown and a pretty simultaneous recovery!

Jumping switch knee can be effective takedown defense.

Amazingly slick knockout:

Random Land

New ocean creatures just dropped!

Midnight Music: Folk rock, 1976

Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.

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