In the main event of UFC 326 on March 7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Max Holloway suffered a humbling unanimous decision loss to Charles Oliveira, losing his BMF belt in a performance where he was dominated for over 20 minutes on the ground.
The former featherweight champion, who entered the bout as a betting favorite, was taken down at will by Oliveira and never found his rhythm, with all three judges scoring the fight 50-45 for the Brazilian. The loss marked Holloway's second defeat in three fights and raised questions about his future trajectory in the lightweight division.
'BMF' Backlash
The fight drew mixed reactions from fans and analysts, with some questioning whether Oliveira's grappling-heavy approach aligned with the "stand and bang" spirit of the BMF belt.
TNT Sports expert Nick Peet went as far as to say Oliveira’s performance took the relevance out of the BMF belt:
Others, like MMA bettor MagicM, believe that the BMF title was always irrelevant, even before the fight went down:
Holloway's Prospects Moving Forward
Holloway, now 34, has lost three of his past five fights dating back to 2022, though the competition has included champions and legends in Oliveira, Ilia Topuria, and Alexander Volkanovski.
His last victory came against Dustin Poirier in Poirier's retirement fight this past July, a win that kept the BMF belt around his waist until Saturday night.
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With Oliveira moving on to likely face the winner of the upcoming Ilia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje lightweight title fight at the White House event in June, Holloway faces an uncertain road back to contention.
For now, "Blessed" must go back to the drawing board and readjust his approach if he wants to compete with the phenomenal grapplers at the top of the lightweight division, such as Arman Tsarukyan, Benoit St. Denis, and Paddy Pimblett.
