Holloway: I am the cloud hanging over Volkanovski vs. Ortega

“Everybody knows that I’m the cloud. I’m the cloud over that fight. I’m the cloud over the division”.

Max Holloway will sit out and wait to fight the winner of the upcoming featherweight title bout between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega at UFC 260, claiming he is the cloud hanging over that fight.

“Everybody knows that I’m the cloud,” Holloway told MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck in a recent interview. “I’m the cloud over that fight. I’m the cloud over the division. Let them two guys focus on each other, and then let the rain continue after.”

UFC president Dana White, for his part, is on board with the idea of a Volkanovski-Holloway trilogy and says it’s impossible to deny ‘Blessed’ following his five-round masterclass against Calvin Kattar at UFC Fight Island 7.

“He did what he needed to do in spectacular fashion tonight,” White said. “I think that he deserves to fight Volkanovski again.”

That could all change, though, depending on the outcome of Volkanovski vs. Ortega.

Holloway could go on to fight Volkanovski for a third time or rematch Ortega, but the former UFC featherweight champion isn’t too bothered about the outcome so long as he gets to prove himself on fight night and cement his legacy as an all-time great.

“I have no idea,” Holloway said when asked to predict the fight. “Styles make fights, and whoever shows up. We’ll see what happens. We’ll see the way it goes, and let the best man win.”

“When all this money and fame and interviews, when they don’t want to interview me any more, I want my name to be among the greats in all of sports, not only this division,” he said. “Whatever it takes, let me know, and I’m willing to walk that road.”

Holloway is the No. 1 featherweight contender in the world and, as of writing, No. 8 in the UFC men’s pound-for-pound rankings.

UFC 260, which features Volkanovski vs. Ortega as the co-main event, takes place next month, March 27 at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas.