Max Holloway definitely didn’t get the result he wanted in his fight against Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 but he vowed to come back better for his next fight.
The now former “BMF” champion dropped a lopsided decision in the main event after Oliveira scored five takedowns and over 20 minutes of control time on the ground. Holloway battled out of numerous submission attempts but he couldn’t break free from Oliveira’s grip for the better part of five rounds before suffering his first loss at lightweight since becoming a full timer in the division in 2025.
Late Monday night, Holloway released his first statement addressing his performance.
“The highest of highs and the lowest of lows,” Holloway wrote on Twitter. “Saturday night was not my night. Sorry to all my family, friends and fans that I have let down. Shout out to Olivera for doing his thing. All class so nothing but love to him.
“No excuses from this side and there never will be. I’ve been here before I know the work I need to do to get back to where I wanna be. We are far from done. See you guys at the top.”
Holloway entered the fight as a solid favorite to defeat Oliveira and potentially put himself in position to battle for the UFC lightweight title in the near future.
After showcasing almost flawless takedown defense throughout most of his UFC career, Holloway just couldn’t stop Oliveira’s grappling attack, which put him on the canvas repeatedly during the fight.
The loss dropped Holloway to 2-2 as a lightweight in the UFC after he previously split a pair of fights with Dustin Poirier and also scored a highlight reel knockout over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
He now looks to get back on track in his next fight with a plethora of options awaiting Holloway regardless of his performance against Oliveira at UFC 326.
Read the full article here
