Max Holloway takes a jab at the heavyweight division and calls for unity among fighters in the pursuit of better pay in the UFC.

Max Holloway is a former UFC champion. Photo: Reproduction.

Even though he is one of the most successful names in UFC history and has been contracted by the organization for almost 15 years, Max Holloway also has no problem talking about issues that are not so comfortable for the company. Last Tuesday (3), the current BMF champion spoke about one of the most sensitive topics involving the Ultimate's relationship with fighters: payment. According to the former featherweight champion (up to 65,7 kg), it is impossible to achieve improvements without the unity of the athletes.

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During an appearance on the 'Mightycast' podcast , hosted by former fighter Demetrious Johnson , the Hawaiian recalled the period when Dana White and Jon Jones publicly faced a financial impasse in negotiations for a fight with Francis Ngannou , then the heavyweight champion (up to 120,2 kg). He believes that the way other fighters perceived the situation was detrimental to the profession as a whole.

“There’s one time, in particular, that I always remember. When Jon Jones said, ‘I’ll fight Francis, give me 10 million dollars,’ and the UFC replied, ‘We’re not going to pay you that. ’ Derrick Lewis said, ‘What? Give me a million and I’ll fight Francis right now.’ We can’t do that, brother. You needed to be practically on Jon’s side, like, ‘That’s it, Jon, you deserve 10 million dollars, go out there and earn it.’ Because, you know what? If he’s been fighting for ten years, his base salary probably increases too,” he stated.

💰🤝 Max Holloway says UFC fighters need to work together to get higher pay from the UFC:

“One time will always stick out to my mind. When Jon Jones said, “I'll fight Francis, give me $10M” and UFC say' “We're not paying you that.”

Derrick Lewis said, "What? Give me a thousand and… pic.twitter.com/K1a7qVh6zS

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) March 4, 2026

Max Holloway faces Charles Oliveira this weekend.

Charles Oliveira and Max Holloway face off at UFC 326. Photo: UFC/Press Release.

This Saturday (7), Max Holloway returns to the octagon to measure forces with an old acquaintance: Charles do Bronx . The Brazilian tries to win the BMF belt in the main fight of UFC 326, whose winner can jump the queue and become the number one challenger for the linear lightweight title (up to 70,3 kg), currently held by Ilia Topuria . The two faced each other for the first time in 2015, when they were still prospects in the featherweight division (up to 65,7 kg). On that occasion, the Paulista ended up suffering a neck injury in the initial minutes and was forced to leave the fight.

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