Max Holloway will never rule out the possibility of rematching Conor McGregor.
Holloway (25-7 MMA, 21-7 UFC) fought McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in a featherweight bout at UFC Fight Night 26 in August 2013, losing a unanimous decision to the Irish superstar.
The pair hasn’t crossed paths again since. McGregor is edging closer to his return from injury after being sidelined from competition since July 2021, but Holloway is confident the day will eventually come where they run it back.
“Conor McGregor fights who he wants to fight and I’m always on the shortlist for him,” Holloway told ESPN. “It probably irks him that I was the only man that he didn’t get to put away in the featherweight division, so we’ll see. I have nothing but respect for the guy. I’m glad he’s coming back. It’s going to be great for the sport that he’s coming back.
“A lot of people are saying (Michael) Chandler, but if you think Dana White has a nasty curveball, Conor’s curveball is way more nasty than his. At the end of the day, we’ll see what happens. I’m always on the shortlist for the dude. I’m just glad that there is talks of him coming back and we’ll wait to see when the talk is. Everything is talk until it’s not, until he’s making that walk to the octagon.”
Holloway skated past McGregor’s pre-fight interview with UFC Arabia in the lead-up to his Dustin Poirier rematch in January 2021, resulting in an animated McGregor to say, “he’s in the pipeline for sure, me and Max will do it again.”
Holloway remains optimistic he had a chance of securing the matchup down the line.
“I’m on the shortlist for that Conor fight,” Holloway said. “He knows it. His fans know it. Me and him are probably going to fight. We’re in fighting talks until the day we both finally retire. I think you’re going to see that one in the future, especially with him coming back.”
Max Holloway: ‘I’m always on the shortlist’ to fight Conor McGregor
