After Alexander Volkanovski’s recent title defense, he complimented Max Holloway’s willingness to fight and affirm himself as the number one contender.
Over the weekend, Volkanovski reminded the world why the UFC’s 145-pound weight class is so deep with talent. In a fight that saw ebbs and flows and a high drama show, the Australian champion pulled through after a couple of submissions threatened his title reign. The pair of featherweights also earned the distinction for ‘Fight of the Night‘ honors at UFC 266 last Saturday (Sept. 25, 2021).
Shortly after his hard-fought victory against Bryan Ortega, the two-time defending champion appreciated the fact that his former foe Holloway isn’t sitting on the sidelines. Instead, Holloway is continuing to fight to cement his status as the #1 featherweight on the roster. The former featherweight champ was announced to be fighting Yair Rodriguez on November 13.
“Max, I guarantee you he doesn’t have to take this fight, and he’ still gonna go take it. He wants that #1-spot. Alexander Volkanovski said at the UFC 266 post-fight press conference. He wants to earn it. That shows you what type of guy he is. So how can you not respect that? Good on him. That’s exactly what I’d fuckin’ do. So you gotta give him respect.”
When presented with the Holloway versus Yair Rodriguez pairing, “The Great” seemed confident in the abilities of “Blessed”. In addition, the 145-pound titleholder warned that it would be a poor match-up for the flashy striker from Mexico.
“Yair is a great fighter. Stylistically, I think Max is a nightmare for him. So I’m expecting Max to go out there, do his thing, and we’re running that trilogy. And Dana’s gonna pay us good money for it.” Volkanovski said.
Despite the Rodriguez roadblock, the signs along the road are telling Volkanovski that he’s staring down the barrel of a potential trilogy bout with Holloway. Fresh off his title defense, “The Great” seems keen on conquering the war against one of the best featherweights of our generation. However, before the two meet for the third time, Volkanovski maintains that ‘good money’ should come with a fight of that much significance.
Do you want to see Volkanovski and Holloway run it back a third time?
