Earlier, Gaethje said he was willing to sit idle for a year and wait for a title fight if Charles Oliveira is the next opponent for the division’s reigning champion, Islam Makhachev.
“If they put Oliveira against Islam, then I’ll fight the winner next September or October,” Gaethje told ESPN. “I have no problem with waiting. I’ll spend that time getting stronger, working on cardio, and honing my skills. I’ll spend as much time as they give me and I’ll be even more prepared for the title fight. Who else am I going to fight? There’s no one else. I did what I had to do and I don’t know what else I have to do.”
“If you change your mind bro, how about we make the fight for the fans?”, Holloway wrote on social media, quoting an interview with Highlight.
Justin Gaethje, 34, is riding a two-fight win streak, having won by majority decision over Rafael Fiziev and knocking out Dustin Puryear in a contender’s bout.
Max Holloway, 31, also won two fights in a row, defeating Arnold Allen by unanimous decision and knocking out Korean Zombie. In 2019, “Blessed” made an unsuccessful attempt to win the interim UFC lightweight championship belt, losing by unanimous decision to Dustin Puryear after five rounds.