(Exclusive) Max Holloway Approves 3 Possible Women’s BMF Champs

Max Holloway says Amanda Nunes, Joanna Jedrzejcyzk and Rose Namajunas are among those deserving of the BMF belt.

Sergei Belski-Imagn Images

A BMF title for the ladies? Max Holloway says that'd be "pretty sick".

The UFC's "Baddest Motherf*****" belt was introduced in 2019 and was passed down from Jorge Masvidal to Justin Gaethje, who then lost the title to Max Holloway in a battle of the ages at UFC 300 that ended with Gaethje going face first into the canvas thanks to a buzzer beater KO from Holloway.

Holloway's epic performance brought upon a new meaning to BMF, putting a new spin on it as the "Blessed Man Forever" belt and "Blessed" he is, granted another shot at the featherweight title against Ilia Topuria in his return to the Octagon at UFC 308 on Oct. 26.

Former UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Of course, others see the BMF title in a different light, with their holders having to have a certain tenacity about them. Some fighters have even suggested a women's fight for the silver strap, with that idea coming from former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade earlier this year at UFC 300.

Win or lose, Andrade has been in dog fights all of her career across three different weight classes in the UFC, with the Brazilian bruiser fighting some of the baddest women on the planet including Joanna Jedrzejcyzk and Rose Namajunas, along with current champions Zhang Weili and Valentina Shevchenko, ranked pound-for-pound #1.

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Holloway On The Idea Of A Women's BMF Belt

While not a member of the UFC brass, the 32-year-old Holloway is the leading authority on the BMF title (seeing as he still has it), so what does the third titleholder have to say about the fourth potentially being a woman?

"I think they should," Holloway told MMA Knockout (courtesy of Stake), when asked if the women will get their own BMF title, in time. "I think so. There's a bunch of BMF fights in the women category for sure. Some of them are crazy, bro. I mean, some of them wanna fight men sometimes. They're insane. If that's not a BMF, I don't know what it is."

UFC 232: Amanda Nunes vs. Cris Cyborg / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The UFC's three BMF champions consist of Jorge Masvidal, Justin Gaethje and Holloway, three fan-favorites across three weight classes, welterweight, lightweight and featherweight. This got me thinking, who'd be their counterparts in the women's divisions?

Off the top of my head, I went with retired Hall of Famer Joanna Jedrzejczyk, two-time champ and top flyweight contender Rose Namajunas, and the consensus greatest female fighter of all time, former two-division champion Amanda Nunes (also retired).

"I'm Forgetting Some, But There's A Bunch Of Killers"

So, are these three women in or are they out? In a conversation full of "killers", Holloway says they're all in.

"Rose for sure. Joanna for sure. If Amanda Nunes is still around 100%, how you deny her a shot at that? There's a bunch of them, bro. They're killers. They're a bunch of killers. I'm forgetting some, but there's a bunch of killers."

"To have a BMF title for a woman, it'd be pretty sick," Holloway said.

UFC 223: Namajunas vs. Jędrzejczyk 2 / Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images

Rose Namajunas threw out the idea of a women's BMF title following her win over Tracy Cortez in Denver, later admitting it was more of a joke in the moment.

For Jedrzejcyzk, Poland's first-ever UFC Champion is settling into her second year of MMA retirement, though she apparently told former foe Andrade she'd consider coming back for a crack at the inaugural women's BMF title - if they were to make one, that is.

"I told [Andrade], I miss MMA. She asked me what would tempt me to come back, money or some name, I told her it was probably just the BMF belt," Jedrzejczyk told Paweł Wyrobek in Polish. "I told her I only see three names for this fight and one of them is you, of course Rose who I lost the belt to in 2017."

I've just had a conversation with Joanna Jedrzejczyk. The former UFC champion received an interesting offer from a rival organization and commented on Jessica Andrade's words about BMF Belt. pic.twitter.com/xgeMUSZwQg

— Paweł Wyrobek (@pablopolsport) September 3, 2024

Will we ever see BMF titles in both the men's and women's divisions? Only time will tell, but as for right now, the current BMF titleholder Holloway is prepping for war against the undefeated Ilia Topuria in Abu Dhabi, come Oct. 26.

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