Justin Gaethje campaigned for Max Holloway fight before Michael Chandler scrap came to fruition

Justin Gaethje wanted to fight Max Holloway and had hoped he would move up to lightweight again.

After Gaethje was submitted by Khabib Nurmagomedov for the lightweight strap last October, he said he wanted to return ASAP. That didn’t come to fruition and he has been on the sidelines for over a year by the time he returns. When he was sitting on the sidelines and he saw the featherweight title fight between Alex Volkanovski and Brian Ortega get delayed, he said he asked for a fight with Holloway.

“Max is probably my favorite fighter to watch so I honestly don’t want to fight the guy ever,” Gaethje told ESPN (via MMANews). “But I need to put myself in the title picture and if he jumps weight classes, I wasn’t sure if with Brian Ortega vs. Volkanovski being tied up with The Ultimate Fighter, I thought maybe he might want to come up to lightweight and try his hand, with Khabib being gone, at the lightweight title. That was an option at the time but didn’t work out.”

Had Holloway decided to move up to lightweight a bout between him and Gaethje would’ve been one of the most anticipated fights of the year. Both men are phenomenal strikers and are never in boring fights.

Unfortnately, the fight did not come to fruition as Holloway instead was booked to fight Yair Rodriguez in July but he got hurt and was forced to pull out. It’s rumored he will face the Mexican in November in the main event of a Fight Night card. Justin Gaethje, meanwhile, is set to return to the Octagon at UFC 268 on November 6 opposite Michael Chandler. If Gaethje wins, he could very well be fighting for UFC gold again in his next fight.

Who do you think would’ve won, Justin Gaethje or Max Holloway?