Max Holloway and Ilia Topuria are set to go to war for the featherweight crown at UFC 308! The highly anticipated main event of the night will go down at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 26. ‘El Matador’, the current 145 lbs. champion, is undefeated in his professional career and in the UFC. With 5-finishes in 7 UFC bouts, including a knockout of former champion Alexander Volkanovski to grab the title, Topuria is a dangerous force for any opponent in front of him.

But Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway isn’t a name to be taken lightly. A former featherweight champion and current ‘BMF’ title holder, the Hawaiian is riding on a 3-fight tear with an iconic knockout of Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 adding to his momentum. So, what’s next for Holloway after UFC 308 if he regains the title? What happens if he loses to the champion? Let’s take a look at all the possibilities that could be in store for him in the near future.

Max Holloway’s first fight as champion- What if ‘Blessed’ wins at UFC 308

Before losing his crown to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 245, Max Holloway was undefeated as a featherweight from 2014 to 2019. The two men faced each other twice after that at UFC 251 and UFC 276, with Holloway coming up short both times. Now, with a chance to regain his title, could we see another clash between the pair?

Volkanovksi has lost 3 out of 4 of his last appearances inside the Octagon. While two of those losses were against Islam Makhachev at lightweight, the most recent was to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February this year. So, if Holloway wins the belt back, it would be an interesting fight as Volkanovski would get a chance to get back his crown and Holloway gets a chance to avenge his prior losses to the Australian. With Holloway admitting during the UFC 308 fight week that he ‘wants to get one back’ against ‘The Great,’ this matchup could likely be his first title defense if he wins on Saturday. 

However, things might not be so simple as the featherweight division has got another name that’s been making a case for a title shot. Diego Lopes, the Brazilian star, made his UFC debut on just 5-days’ notice at UFC 288 in 2023. While he lost that bout, he has shown no signs of slowing down since then and he’s currently on a 5-fight win streak, which includes a huge win over former title contender Brian Ortega at UFC 306.

Lopes is also the backup for UFC 308, and with his recent string of wins, could emerge as a potential challenger for Holloway if he wins his bout against Topuria.  But there’s also another crucial featherweight bout that may see a new challenger emerge. At UFC 310, Movsar Evloev and Aljamain Sterling are set to clash after their previous bout at UFC 307 was canceled due to ‘The Funkmaster’ suffering from an injury.

Evloev is currently ranked no. 5 in the featherweight division, while Sterling, a former bantamweight champion is ranked no. 9. Evloev was also the man who handed Lopes his first loss in the UFC in his debut and is undefeated in his professional MMA career. So, the winner of the UFC 310 bout between him and Sterling, could possibly find themselves in the title picture if Holloway secures the belt once more.

With a list of challengers waiting in the wings for a shot at the coveted gold, there’s no shortage of opponents for Max Holloway in the future. But what if ‘El Matador’ proves too much of a challenge for the Hawaiian? Where does ‘Blessed’ go if he comes up short in his quest for the belt?

If Holloway loses, what’s next for him?

For Max Holloway fans, the idea of him losing to Ilia Topuria might be a scary prospect. But MMA is a sport that is unpredictable to the highest degree, and if UFC 308 doesn’t go ‘Blessed’s way, there are still multiple interesting matchups for him as he’s only 32 years old.

In a recent interview with Demetrious Johnson on his YouTube channel, Holloway shared, “…we had that fight booked with Khabib a while back and they call Islam ‘Khabib 2.0’ so I want all the smoke, it’d be an honor to fight that guy and try to etch my name into the history books.”

With a win over Justin Gaethje at lightweight, it wouldn’t be too far-fetched of an idea for Holloway to chase the title at 155 lbs. After all, back in 2018, he was ready to step in on a week’s notice to take on Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223. While he was denied the fight due to a severe weight cut, the current Dagestani champion in Islam Makhachev might give him a chance at redemption.

And if he moves up in weight, there’s also the biggest star in the UFC who could be an intriguing matchup! Conor McGregor and Holloway fought each other back in 2013, with the Irishman pulling off the win. Now, a decade later, Holloway has made it clear, “I tell people all the time, bro, I’ve got a job, we saw what he did to one guy (Michael Chandler) making him wait forever so I’m not too crazy about it but if the opportunity came, you’d be dumb as hell to not take that fight.”

Well, it seems Max Holloway is not a man short of choices. His UFC 300 win has paid off handsomely, and not just in terms of his paycheck. As a competitor, he would surely want to win the title in Abu Dhabi. But even if he does not, his prospects are looking good and his stock in unlikely to take a huge hit. Who would you like to see Max Holloway take on after UFC 308? Let us know in the comments below!