“It would be fun”

With a win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300, Max Holloway isn't ruling out the possibility of a fight with reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

On Saturday, April 13, “Blessed” will step into the Octagon for what many are calling the People’s Main Event. The former featherweight titleholder will look to secure the BMF title, the BMF title, when he meets another popular fan favorite at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

But a win over “The Highlight” won’t just give Holloway a cool new belt to put on. It could also put him in the top five of the lightweight division and set the stage for a possible shot at the division's top prize.

“I'm in a place where Gaethje comes first, but if I come out and put my hand up like I intend to, there could be a lot of fights coming our way – one of them being this [155 pound] I think it would be fun.” Holloway told Kevin Iole in a recent interview.

For Max Holloway, it's the second time he's fought at lightweight, his first fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 236 – exactly five years to the day he returns to the division later this month.

“Blessed” saw his 13-fight winning streak snapped by “The Diamond” before moving back to 145 for a trilogy of classic clashes with Alexander Volkanovski.

Justin Gaethje believes Max Holloway will be too tough for his own good at uFC 300

As for Max Holloway's UFC 300 opponent, Justin Gaethje, he's all but ready for one last shot at Makhachev's lightweight gold, but a loss to “Blessed” could put a damper on those plans. “The Highlight” has won four of his last six, the two losses coming against then-champions Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira, making an almost guaranteed showdown with the “Dagestani Destroyer” his last chance to win UFC gold.

Aware of the risks, Gaethje plans to use the Octagon canvas at UFC 300 to paint a masterpiece of violence and chaos using Holloway's blood.

“Max Holloway is a legend, probably the only person on the UFC roster that checks every single box to be a BMF, so I have a lot of respect for him,” Gaethje said during a promotional video for their upcoming clash. “But that’s my job and I’m going to try to finish it. I'm going to finish Max off, he may not disappear in the traditional way, but I think I'll do damage where the doctors need to stop him. We’re about to paint a violent picture and there aren’t two better people to go out there and put on a show.”