Sean Shelby's Shoes: What's next for Max Holloway after UFC 329 win?

It terms of the fulfillment of a fight, Max Holloway couldn't have scripted a more disappointment end to his UFC 329 rematch with Conor McGregor. But in terms of time spent in the octagon relative to the payday, it was an ideal night.

After waiting 13 years to get his hands on McGregor (22-7 MMA, 10-5 UFC) again, Holloway (28-9 MMA, 24-9 UFC) didn't absorb a single strike in Saturday's main event rematch at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas before his Irish rival could not compete any more due to a knee injury, and he was awarded the TKO win just 69 seconds into the opening round.

Was it just the quickest path to what was ultimately an inevitable outcome? Perhaps. But Holloway certainly didn't get the satisfaction of truly beating McGregor and showing that his skillset is far superior all this time after dropping a unanimous decision in the first encounter.

Much of the post-fight narrative will rightfully be on McGregor, the injury and his future, but Holloway is legitimately left in a strange position. This should've been a victory that elevated his star and showed how strong he can bounce back after losing the BMF belt to Charles Oliveira in underwhelming fashion in March. He gets that with the win on his record, but everyone is well aware of the circumstances.

It's not something he's going to complain about, per se, because Holloway made the largest payday of his career without even breaking a sweat. However, now he's forced to campaign about why this result should put him in the title mix at lightweight, or maybe even welterweight.

The latter seems like a bit of a stretch. Despite his interest in a matchup with 170-pound king Islam Makhachev, there are simply too many proven contenders in that division for Holloway to be considered to skip the queue. Moreover, Makhachev is already set up for a title defense against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 on Aug. 15, and a title change there would reset the entire landscape of the division.

Instead, Holloway should fully focus his efforts on selling the idea of a rematch vs. lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, who he holds a win over. Not only has Holloway beaten Gaethje (28-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC) before, but he did so on the biggest stage and in the most spectacular way when he put "The Highlight" on his reel with a last-second knockout at UFC 300 in April 2024.

Although it would come at the ire of 155-pound contenders like Arman Tsarukyan and Oliveira, the storyline around another Gaethje vs. Holloway fight is extremely juicy, and an easy sell for the company. It would not be surprising whatsoever if the company opted to go in that direction.

Another possibility for Holloway is a matchup with UFC 329 co-main event winner Paddy Pimblett, who looked nothing short of spectacular in choking Benoit Saint Denis out cold in a mere 52 seconds. A clash between Holloway and Pimblett (24-4 MMA, 8-1 UFC) would be a lot of fun and have true divisional meaning. That would be a pairing everyone should get behind.

Either of the options would be great for Holloway, but what no one should want to see is a trilogy with McGregor. It's easy to understand why Holloway would want it because it would be another gigantic check, but beating "The Notorious" again on the back end of another injury and layoff, would not add much in the way of value to his resume. Let's drop all the talk about that now.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean Shelby's Shoes: What's next for Max Holloway after UFC 329 win?