The BMF belt began as a means to fill a glaring gap on the PPV card by Dana White. It has turned into a globally recognized title that everyone desires. For now, Max Holloway has turned into an entity that everyone wants to square up to with a BMF strap to his name. Moreover, even champions want to challenge the Hawaiian for the glorious ‘moniker.’
It looks like the inaugural ‘BMF’ champion, Jorge Masvidal, has also put his name forward. The retired MMA fighter has been itching to make his return to the fold after a foray into boxing. The 39-year-old star made a name for himself after brutalizing newly traded Ben Askren via a viscous 4-second KO in the opening round. Now, ‘Gamebred’ gave the perfect marketing pitch for a Holloway bout.
Masvidal had an amazing year in 2019 but has not won since then. The Miami native has lost four fights in a row. In his last outing, Gilbert Burns handed him a loss via a unanimous decision, after which he called it a career. With Max Holloway trading leather with Ilia Topuria this weekend, Masvidal’s dream match would have to wait.
Jorge Masvidal calls potential BMF vs. BMF fight against Max Holloway a “dream match” for his #UFC return:
“One ‘BMF’ has the quickest knockout ever, the other ‘BMF’ has the latest knockout ever. … I wouldn’t mind it one bit.”
(🎥 @DamonMartin) pic.twitter.com/YCZFa0PUti
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) October 24, 2024
Moreover, the 32-year-old fighter has also broken into the top 5 of the lightweight division. This opens the door for many interesting match-ups that could leave out Jorge Masvidal. Holloway also challenged lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, claiming the champ doesn’t want to face him. Keeping that aside, Holloway also touched upon his favorite UFC 300 moment, which involved his rival.
Max Holloway’s favorite moment of UFC 300 involves Ilia Topuria
The 27-year-old Spanish fighter might be at odds with Max Holloway right now, but the duo have mutual respect for one another. In the lead-up to their epic clash at UFC 308, Topuria threw shade at Holloway’s blistering KO of Justin Gaethje. Unimpressed by the fight, he stated he saw no technique but just a brawl.
Turning the clock back, Holloway was quizzed about his thoughts on the Iconic UFC 300 bout. The former champion felt it necessary to give his adversary a chance to come back into the fight. Despite facing criticism from Topuria, it was the Spaniard’s reaction that Holloway loved the most from that night.
The duo have traded barbs at one another ever since their first face-to-face interview with ESPN MMA. In many instances, Topuria scoffed off at Holloway, posing a threat to his title reign. While on the other hand, Holloway accused Topuria of being a ‘copycat’ blatantly mimicking Conor McGregor.