Max Holloway waiting on new contract before making title defense

With Conor McGregor seemingly gone from the featherweight division for good, and longtime champion Jose Aldo conquered, Max Holloway is the man at 145 pounds.

Now he’s looking for a king’s ransom.

While worthy challengers like Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson are waiting in line to go toe-to-toe with Holloway, the proud Hawaiian is unsure of when he’ll compete next due to the fact that his UFC 212 title unification bout triumph over Aldo was apparently the last fight on his contract.

“Now we’re just taking it one step at a time. I can’t force something. I’m not going to rush something. I’m not going to get mad over something that I have no control over,” Holloway told KHON2. “Like I said, I can control my feelings and that’s what I am focusing on, myself. It’s only giving me more time to get better, you know? Don’t poke the bear. They’re poking at me right now, but they’re going to see on fight night, so I can’t wait. I’m only getting better.

“I’m just asking for a fair shake,” Holloway continued. “You see a lot of these guys, a lot of these other champions making what they’re making. I’m not trying to take anything away from them, but I feel like I’m one of the more exciting fighters under contract in the UFC. At the end of the day, I’m the king. I’m in my throne, you know? If you want to come see me, come see me.”

It’s no surprise that Holloway chewed through his contractual obligations given the furious pace he’s set inside the Octagon over the past few years. He fought four times each in 2014 and 2015, part of an 11-fight winning streak that was capped off by his coronation in Rio de Janeiro this past June.

When Holloway does return to the cage, he’d like it to possibly be in Las Vegas, where he plans to meet with UFC officials this weekend, according to KHON2’s Rob DeMello.

“My last couple of fights have been out of country,” Holloway said. “Let me come home. Let me come to the ‘ninth island’ (Las Vegas), as close as we can get to UFC Hawaii, so give me that.”

After October, the only remaining pay-per-view that is currently scheduled to take place in Las Vegas this year is UFC 219 at the T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 30.