Featherweight division needs to 'move on' from the Conor McGregor era says Max Holloway

Max Holloway believes that with Conor McGregor unlikely to fight at 145 pounds again, it is time for the featherweight division to move on.

McGregor made a name for himself in the featherweight division as the biggest combat star today as he breezed past the opposition before shocking the world and knocking out champion Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds at UFC 194 in December 2015.

Since then, McGregor has fought Nate Diaz twice in welterweight bouts and became the first ever two-weight champion by defeating former lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in November 2016.

After getting stripped of the featherweight title and with Aldo being promoted as champion again, the Irishman is now closing in on a big money boxing fight with Floyd Mayweather.

Meanwhile, Holloway (17-3 record in MMA) defeated Anthony Pettis to become the interim featherweight champion at UFC 206 in December 2016.

And with UFC 212 on the horizon on 3 June, where Holloway will take on Aldo, the Hawaiian believes McGregor's time in the featherweight division is long over.

"Would you guys come back to MMA after a fight like that [McGregor vs Mayweather]?" Holloway asked at a media luncheon. "Conor should be proud. He was the champ. He should hold his belt high. At the end of the day, he's the 2015 champ. This is two years later, and he never once talked about defending the 145-pound belt ever. Not ever."

"He talked about defending the [lightweight belt] more than he talked about defending the [featherweight belt]. It's time to move on from this chapter of life, guys. We're not going to tell LeBron [James], 'Hey, LeBron, you can't show your three rings – that was three years ago.' No, be proud; you won it. But you've got to play again to hold this championship, and [McGregor] is not doing that."

Holloway is currently on 10-fight winning streak and coincidentally, his last loss came against McGregor back in 2013. However, despite stating in the past that he is fine with fighting the "Notorious" again, he questions if McGregor will ever set foot in an octagon again.

"My fans, they want to see me be the king, and they want to see me conquer, and they want to see me defend my throne, and that's not what he [McGregor] is. I think people need to move on from that already, especially for the [145-pound division]."

"If he wants to come back after his fight, Dana White knows my number. We can get it done. But after getting so many meals like that, you [wonder] if he'll ever fight again.