UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski feels a trilogy bout with Max Holloway at this point would be “silly.”
Volkanovski and Holloway fought a second time on July 11 at UFC 251. The 145-pound title bout served as the co-main event of UFC 251. Volkanovski won the fight via split decision. This was a controversial call to many, as media members and fans generally felt Holloway won the fight. While reporters haven’t cried “robbery,” fight fans certainly have.
Alex Volkanovski Dismisses Idea Of Third Max Holloway Bout
Volkanovski appeared on ESPN’s Now or Never. During his appearance, “The Great” explained why he doesn’t feel the need to fight Holloway once again at this time (h/t MMAFighting).
“At this point, right now, it doesn’t make sense,” Volkanovski said. “To win back to back, I did say (that I wanted to beat him decisively), obviously leading up to the fight, trying to hype the fight up, but we all know Max is durable. So we’re well aware that taking him out is difficult to do. But at the same time, the majority of the rounds out of the two fights clearly show that I won seven or eight of them. Again, very competitive rounds so you’ve got to give credit to Max but at the same time, winning two back-to-back, it would be silly to do a rematch.”
Volkanovski isn’t short on options outside of Holloway. The winner of Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Yair Rodriguez could very well receive that title opportunity. There’s also the chance that the “Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung or Brian Ortega takes that spot. One can’t rule out the wildcard possibility of Henry Cejudo coming out of retirement either.
What do you make of Alex Volkanovski’s comments on a potential third bout with Max Holloway?
