Max Holloway is a big lad for the 145-pound division.
Currently the champion at featherweight, Holloway has yet to have serious issues in making his fighting weight. Although he may look drained and require a towel at the weigh-ins, it’s been so far so good for the Hawaiian.
That being said, if the current regulations on fighter’s dropping weight to compete get any stricter, and we could see Holloway move up to the 155-pound division fairly quickly.
“If they change a few things around, I’m probably not going to be able to make 145,” Holloway said on MMAFighting’s The MMA Hour. “If it happens, it happens. If UFC keeps making new rules, I most definitely might have to step up. There ain’t no denying it.”
At the moment, there is a movement in the State of California to help fighter safety by requiring fighters to be within a certain distance of their contest weight. While the State won’t outright ban you from fighting in the division should you miss the guidelines, they will recommend you move up, or question if you can be licensed to fight at that weight class.
As of yet, other States are yet to adopt such testing, but with a recent ban of IVs from USADA, and a re-occurring call for change, and the sport appears to be heading in that direction. For Holloway, it’s a potential road block for the future.
“It’s just UFC with all this USADA, the weight cuts, you’ve got to be a certain weight when you’re checking in and blah blah blah — all of that medical stuff, that’s what I mean. If they start adding more medical stuff I probably would [go to 155],” Holloway said.
“Every time I check my weight they’re in disbelief, but I’m like, ‘I’ve never missed weight in my life.’ I don’t know why they’re giving me a hard time, but medically if they’re the rules, then medically I probably won’t be able to make it because of their rules with the (weight) cuts.
“155 might come sooner rather than later, so we’ll see what happens … I’m a big boy for featherweight, so 155 is going to happen. Sooner or later, we don’t know when, we’re just waiting. But when the time comes, it comes.”
