Max Holloway still wants Khabib Nurmagomedov fight

UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway and UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov were briefly scheduled to battle for the lightweight title in early 2018. Unfortunately, this super fight never materialized.

That being said, Holloway still wants it, and is still optimistic it will happen.

While Nurmagomedov has recently beaten Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor — two men Holloway has lost to — the Hawaiian likes his chances against the Russian.

“We don’t know, none of them is me, I’m not them,” Holloway told Yahoo Sports (via South China Morning Post). “Khabib is Khabib. I wish it happened.

“Khabib is on his way to being one of greatest to ever do it. I plan on being one of the greatest to ever do it. I’m sure we’re gonna meet,” Holloway added. “As long as my goal and his goal is the same, we’re gonna run into each other some time, and that’s being the greatest fighter of all time.

“We’ll see what happens. That fight excites me. There’s fights that raises lots of questions for someone, and he raises lots of questions. Hopefully we get to fight and find out the answers.”

Max Holloway is currently days out from a high-stakes featherweight title defense opposite Australian juggernaut Alexander Volkanovski. This bout with the absurdly strong Volkanovski, which will co-headline UFC 245 on Saturday in Las Vegas, could provide Holloway with some useful experience for a future fight with a powerful grappler like Nurmagomedov.

Nurmagomedov, meanwhile, is currently scheduled to defend his lightweight belt opposite Tony Ferguson in April. This matchup has been scheduled four times previously to no avail, but the hope is that the fifth time is the charm.

Do you want to see Max Holloway and Khabib Nurmagomedov fight in the future? Who do you think would win?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/10/2019.