Max Holloway believes he’s the first BMF champ to legitimize the title, and that doesn’t necessarily bother Jorge Masvidal the way you might think.
In 2019, Masvidal was the first man to claim the BMF title, which Nate Diaz spoke into existence, when he defeated Diaz by third-round injury TKO. Since then, Justin Gaethje and Holloway also have held the BMF title, but Holloway, who claimed the belt with an iconic knockout of Gaethje at UFC 300, is the only man to defend it after beating Dustin Poirier last July at UFC 318.
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Ahead of his second attempted BMF title defense vs. Charles Oliveira on March 7 at UFC 326 (Paramount+), Holloway, a former UFC featherweight champion, explained how the belt is something to be taken seriously now that he owns it.
“The BMF belt, to me, personally represents just a bad motherf*cker, you know – blessed man forever,” Holloway said on his YouTube channel. “Only very few get to fight for this belt. The belt was a laughingstock before. All of a sudden I got it, (and) everyone wants to fight for it now. It’s hilarious. It’s fun to me.”
More: History of the BMF title: The unique UFC championship inspired by Nate Diaz
“Laughingstock,” you say? Masvidal isn’t sure about that wording.
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“I mean, I love Max as a fighter. If that’s his opinion, that’s his opinion,” Masvidal said Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I think he’s one of the best fighters to do it. He’s a dog when he goes in there. But whether it had been me or Nate fighting Max, it wasn’t gonna be his best night, either. So a ‘laughingstock’ in what way? Because the skill level is obviously there. I would love to fight Max because of the stylistic matchup. I think he’s a great standup fighter. I just think I’m better. So I don’t know what he means by ‘laughingstock,’ but you know [shrugs].”
Does Masvidal take offense to Holloway’s words? Sort of.
“Yeah, I guess, because I competed for it first, but at the same time I don’t take offense to it,” Masvidal said. “He’s held both belts, so he can say that because he had one belt and was like, ‘Ah, I don’t need that other belt.’ Whatever. But now he fought for the (BMF) belt and loves the belt, and that’s the one that he’s parading around town, so it’s funny.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jorge Masvidal wishes he could fight Max Holloway in battle of BMFs
