UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will open the door to fighting Max Holloway again down the line, but the door will remain firmly shut for the near future.
Alexander Volkanovski holds two official victories over Max Holloway, most recently edging Holloway out at UFC 251 via controversial split decision. The outcome was so controversial that despite Holloway being 0-2 against Volkanovski, UFC boss Dana White entertained the thought of having a trilogy fight between the two anyway. The champion isn’t opposed to the trilogy fight happening someday, with “someday” being the operative word.
“If Max stays in this division and he’s taken on fighters and he’s wiping them out, 100 percent (we’ll fight again),” Volkanovski told MMA Junkie. “I think later down the track, it’s a big fight, it’s a big opportunity. Even though I’m 2-0, there still seems like there’s still unfinished business, you could sort of say. But obviously to rematch right now, when Dana White and a few people were saying let’s do a trilogy, just seemed crazy to me. And obviously they knew that was pretty crazy, so they stopped that pretty quick.”
The prospect of defeating Holloway a third time will come with its benefits for Volkanovski, but building a legacy as one of the greats comes with having various names on the résumé. So for the time being, the intrigue of a trilogy fight against Holloway will remain stagnant with 0 interest from Volkanovski until the champion tends to other business.
“If we do make that third fight eventually, I do believe that it’s going to be right up there for some of the greatest trilogies, and an interesting one as well, the fact that I’m 2-0 and he still gets a third fight,” Volkanovski said.
“That’s what I mean by for your profile, for your legacy, even for the division, just for myself. Then you’re talking money, as well. There’s a lot that comes into it, and that’s why I definitely would not say I’m never fighting him again – but just definitely not right now.”
Neither Alexander Volkanovski nor Max Holloway currently has a fight booked at the moment.
Who do you think should be Alexander Volkanovski’s next opponent if he is “definitely not” fighting Max Holloway next?
