Daniel Cormier wants Max Holloway to ease himself into the lightweight division.
The former two-time featherweight champion is fresh off his first KO defeat of his career after getting stopped inside three rounds by Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 last month.
Since failing to recapture the 145lb title, ‘Blessed’ has announced that he’s done with featherweight and will be competing at lightweight moving forward.
Holloway is highly ranked in the division after stepping up in weight to put Justin Gaethje to sleep with one second left on the clock in their BMF title clash at UFC 300 in April.
Daniel Cormier names four fighters Max Holloway should face
Holloway and Dustin Poirier have been flirting with the idea of completing their trilogy of fights, with ‘The Diamond’ 2-0 up in the series to this point.
A win against Poirier would propel Holloway into a lightweight championship fight against Islam Makhachev, but Daniel Cormier would prefer to see Holloway not rush into title contention.
With that in mind, he’s named a few fringe contenders that he’d rather see Holloway face before trading blows with Poirier.
“When you look at the rankings, right now he’s number five and he’s asking for Dustin Poirier. That would be absolutely fantastic, but is there a better way to introduce Max Holloway into the lightweight division?” Cormier said Good Guy/Bad Guy.
“Do we put him in there with Dustin for a third time? Or do we see what happens with Michael Chandler after he fights against Charles Oliveira?
“Or do we start to kind of look down the rankings a little bit and say, ‘Well, it would be fun to watch him fight a Rafael Fiziev. It would be fun to watch him fight a Benoit Saint-Denis. It would be fun to watch him fight a Paddy Pimblett.’
“I know that might not be fun for Max, that might not be great for Max, but it would also give him an opportunity to work his way back into contention without being in there with these absolute killers.
“For me, personally, I would like to see Max Holloway not stand across from Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, Alexander Volkanovski then Ilia Topuria, something not as crazy of a challenge.”
Max Holloway looks forward to a new chapter
Holloway suggested he would move up a division immediately after his loss to Topuria, but it didn’t confirm the move until November 2.
The 32-year-old shared a video on his YouTube channel officially announcing his new weight class and talking about the tough task he had cutting down to 145lbs.
“This is like my phoenix moment, from the ashes we’re reborn. We’re on to bigger, better stuff and walking through a new door starting a new chapter,” Holloway said.
“I’m a big believer in never say never, and the big question now is, ‘Was that your last fight at 145?’ You guys saw me touch on it in the press conference, and I can honestly say I think I’m done with 145.
“Your boy is getting older. I turn 33 [in December]. This cut, no excuses. This cut was easy, bro. Shout out to my wife. They helped make this cut really easy, but it takes a tole cutting weight, period. No matter what weight you are.
“I had to give up ramen for my ’45 camps. So I’m done with that. 155 here we come and 155 is where I want to stay. This is a new chapter.”
