Max Holloway hopeful next title fight will take place at UFC 226

UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway is moving on.

Two weeks after he was ruled medically unfit to compete at UFC 223, Holloway is hopeful he’ll be scheduled defend his title against Brian Ortega at UFC 226 on July 7 in Las Vegas, sources say. While the fight isn’t finalized just yet, that’s what Holloway wants.

The UFC is looking for a second title fight to accompany the already announced Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier heavyweight title fight and Holloway has been vocal about the fact that if he can’t fight in his home state of Hawaii he’d like to fight in “The Ninth Island,” Las Vegas.

Holloway (19-3) was scheduled to fight in Vegas on March 3 against Frankie Edgar, however, he was forced to pull out of the contest due to an injured ankle.

He then accepted a fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov on six days’ notice in early April but was pulled from the bout by the New York State Athletic Commission on weigh-in day after they grew concerned with his extreme weight cut.

Holloway last fight in Las Vegas happened in 2015 when he defeated Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision at UFC 194.