Do You See Holloway As Top 5 Guy At LW?

[MEAN357]

I don't think Dustin is top 3 when push comes to shove anymore. He's got that ranking and sure it's earned but Gamrot, Arman, Guram, Islam, Oliveira, Fiziev...he might lose to a lot of the division nowadays.

Fair but everyone you mentioned other than Olives and Islam are still miles away from contention let alone top 5 ranks and still have A LOT to prove.

LW still has a bright future ngl

 

[BigDramaShow26]

I think he and Volk can both go up and do well. But I think Max needs to take a year and bulk up. He looked too frail vs. Dustin. He was rocked several times and just overall looked much less durable.

 

[FIghtxIQ]

No way, this current version takes him down and subs him, easily. Holloway doesn’t have the power to keep Do Bronx off him at LW.

Also Max's style's weakness is muay thai leg kicks, and kicks in general. Yair and Volk all found success using kicks vs Max. Olivera's current muay thai will give Max a lot of problems. Olivera easily damaged Poirer in one round and Max had a war with Poirer for 5 rounds.

 

[SherdogFan23]

Not at this point in his career. If he had moved up earlier in his career he could be solid in the pack of higher level guys, but his defense always suffers because he goes so hard on offense. His lack of reach and power in that division would prevent him from dominating the division even in his prime. He is better to finish his career at 145 lb where his power means more. He is still top 5 at 145 at the moment but lack of fights without repeats means he likely needs to go up against some of the newer guys (if he loses to Volk).

 

[rjmbrd]

Yes, he went up on one months notice without taking any time to fill into the weight class and had a great back and forth fight with poirier. If he took the time to bulk up and adjust to the weight class, I think he'd be a top five guy

When this comes up it usually gives me a laugh that people don't realize going to a 3-2 competitive decision with 2019 Dustin Poirer on virtually no notice means you already proved you can compete with the elite.

Max looked way too small in there against Poirier and was undersized for the division. Despite this he still has a good fight with one of the best 155lbs fighters of this generation.

He probably needs 6 months notice to move up so he can fill in and develop his sparring with the added size.

 

[Substance Abuse]

I don't know. I would like to think so, but I'm also of the mind that he really needs to take time and put on proper muscle mass. Maybe take six months to a year to properly do it.

I'm only assuming here, but I don't think Max is going to fight for much longer. He just got married and he's doing well with secondary income. Regardless, appreciate him while he's here. The guy is an all time JBG disciple and has been a part of so many wars for us. More so, he's a great person out of the cage winning the community spirit award last year.

 

[nick jacoby]

No, his frame is too small and he doesn't have power.

respectfully, I disagree. He's a very big , tall FW. He just needs to properly put on the muscle/weight correctly.
Not sure he really did anything too different for the Porier fight except for not cutting extra weight

 

[Stagliano]

No, his frame is too small and he doesn't have power.

Lol he's walking around at 190 lbs and he couldn't fight Khabib cause he didn't have enough time to make the weight.

 

[ElZid]

I dont think a volume striker with no KO power and who relies a lot on his chin should move up.
He could be top 5 because he's that good but it does not seem like a smart move.
Might not a choice tho if Volk beats him again.

 

[15089371]

I think he'd make top 5, but I do his lack of power being bottleneck at 155. I thought it would've been fine, but it really was a big factor against Dustin.

 

[Yungrich]

With a proper transition and more muscle like porrier did with his weight class change he would most definitely be a top 3 fighter especially with his volume.
1. oliveria max probably loses by getting subbed after dropping oliveria multiple times like every fight he’s in and somehow gets the sub
2. Porrier toss up fight, if max makes adjustments from the first fight and gains appropriate weight he has a slight edge and would be a close fight
3. Gaithje similar to chandler, if patient gaithje shows up max may lose but if he can turn it into a brawl max has a decent chance
4. Islam hard fight, might lose to Islam depending if he is cheating by having khabib corner him
5. Chandler max probably takes a beating in the first two rounds but overwhelms him
6. Beneil probably competitive but Holloway wins with good tdd
7. RDA beats with overwhelming pressure
8. Conor beats with pressure and should win pretty handidly
9. Ferguson some competitive moments but overwhelms with volume, probably an epic fight if Ferguson who fought chandler shows up
10. Fiziev hard first round but overwhelms with volume like against aldo

 

[daltonames]

Unfortunately I dont think so. He could win some fights, but at this point I think it's too late. He's taken way too much damage, and the harder hitting guys at LW are just doing to expedite his retirement.

 

[daniel san]

In current LW landscape, I think he would be a fringe top 5 fighter. Maybe he can beat Oliveira? But I don't see him winning his way to a title fight. Maybe he can beat someone like Dariush, but lose to the rest. Holloway is very talented but I'm not entirely sold on his (according to me) overrated greatness and in the heavier weight classes, being pillow fisted becomes an exponentially greater weakness.

 

[pseto223]

Unless he bulks up and I mean bulks up a lot, no. He lost to Poirier on size and size only. I don't see Max beating Gaethje and Chandler, who are even more powerful strikers than Dustin, or Oliveira, who has more than respectable power in his strikes as well. Islam will wrestlefuck him, Dariush as well (I can see Beneil dropping Max once or twice as well).

Honestly I would give Max a good chance against the shadow of Tony Ferguson and the retiree Conor McGregor. Both of whom shouldn't be in the top 10.

P.S. Again, if we are talking current Max. If he bulks up the way Oliveira did, he could fare very well. But bulking up doesn't happen overnight and Max will need to basically forgo 145.

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

His power doesn't translate well into LW. I don't know if he'd be in the top 5. But he'd never be champion.

 

[empsim]

I think Oliveira, Gaethje, Chandler would finally crack his chin.

Poirier would be a close fight like the first one.

Islam is harder to judge since we rarely see Max having to wrestle much.

 

[PurpleDrank]

People really think size is why Dustin beat him? I dont get it.

 

[spinup]

I think Max could beat any LW on a given day, almost unfinishable, awful to take down, endless cardio and unmatched volume.
Hard to predict how he would fare against Islam, weight really matters in grappling.

 

[chinarice]

Hell no.

He got his ass kicked thoroughly by Dustin who I believe is on his way out of the top5

More than 5 LWs I'd pick to beat Max

 

[Marko Polo]

Hes already beat Oliviera at 145, he can not get taken down by him and light him up on the feet.

Oliveira is basically a Welterweight now. Massive cutter for the division