Max Holloway plans to answer questions about Alexander Volkanovski in UFC 245 title fight

NEW YORK – Max Holloway plans to find out how good Alexander Volkanovski really is when he puts his featherweight belt up for grabs at UFC 245.

Volkanovski (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) believes he is the greatest threat Holloway (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) has seen so far at 145 pounds and will try to prove it by taking the belt from the Hawaiian in December. The challenger has won 17 consecutive fights leading into his first crack at UFC gold and has beaten some elite names along the way.

Holloway has proven he’s on another level from everyone in the division during his 13-fight featherweight winning streak. He sees Volkanovski as an intriguing test, but will only find out how stiff that test is when they share the octagon.

“Alex is Alex,” Holloway told MMA Junkie on Friday. “He’s a beast. When I sit down with my coaches, sit down with my team we look for challenges. The No. 1 challenge that everyone keeps coming up with is about his power and stuff. That’s one of the questions we want to answer. I can’t wait. The only way to figure it out and see if we answer it is on ESPN+.”

An argument could be made that Volkanovski presents somewhat similar challenges to Holloway as Frankie Edgar, who the champion just beat at UFC 240 in July. Volkanovski has youth and more proven power on his side, but when it comes to striking, wrestling and conditioning, the strengths fall in line with Edgar.

Holloway is not trying to compare the tasks, though, because he likes to look at every fight as its own entity.

“I hate comparing guys and I hate when other guys compare me,” Holloway said. “At the end of the day everyone is their own fighter. They can say they fought guys like Max Holloway, but guess what? You didn’t fight me. I could say I fought guys like him, but guess what? I didn’t. It’s just a different animal, a different beast when we’re in there and I can’t wait.”

UFC 245, which takes place Dec. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, will represent Holloway’s fourth championship bout in 12 months. He said following his July win over Edgar, he planned to take some time to focus on his health coming out of that contest, but he returns less than five months later.

Holloway said he’s in tip-top shape going into the fight with Volkanovski, though, and left no stone unturned in preparation for UFC 245.

“At the end of the day I only care about my long run,” Holloway said. “I care about my longevity. These guys work for (my son) Rush, they don’t work for me. They want to make sure I’m there for Rush, so that’s what we did.”