A previous titleholder in the UFC does not exactly know the specific criteria for what embodies being a BMF champion, but thinks that Max Holloway is the best representation of that sort of nebulous ethos, all the same. The BMF belt will be defended by Holloway in a looming rematch against Charles Oliveira at UFC 326 on Saturday, March 7th.
The combatant in question, who was unsure about what qualifies someone to be in a BMF title fight, is Robert Whittaker, who touched on several subjects during an interview with Submission Radio. When touching on the looming sequel clash with Holloway and Oliveira, while also indicating some confusion points around the BMF strap, Robert Whittaker said,
“I still don’t really understand what the BMF is, what that means. I don’t think anyone does. But Max is definitely the BMF. You can’t be up five rounds and then point to the center of the octagon and still lose that. Nobody else does that. I worry for [Charles] Oliveira. I love him like everyone else does, but Max is the better striker. He’s going to go in there and go power. Yeah, he’s going to get hurt a lot, but he’s still the BMF.”
UFC 326 fighter Charles Oliveira will be “hunting the whole time”
Whittaker pointedly mentioned the infamous point down gesture that Holloway has done lately in the UFC cage, and it seems like the next adversary for ‘Blessed’ is fine with indulging in Holloway’s desires. Charles Oliveira will run it back over a decade after their first fight, which saw Holloway win via TKO after ‘do Bronx’ suffered an injury early on during their clash in Western Canada in 2015.
When asked by RMC Sports Combat about what his reaction would be if Holloway hits him with his infamous point down gesture during their headlining fight in the coming days, Oliveira stated [via The Body Lock],
“It doesn’t matter, I’ll be there. That’s why I break people mentally. I don’t run from a fight, I seek it out. I’m hunting the whole time. It makes no difference to me.”