Despite recent event cancellations, Alexander Volkanovski still thinks a rematch with Max Holloway is the fight to make.
A matchup between UFC featherweight champion Volkanovski (21-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) and former champ Holloway (21-5 MMA, 17-5 UFC) was almost finalized for the main event of UFC 251 on June 6 in Perth, Australia, before all scheduled UFC events were suspended indefinitely.
“It just wasn’t signed, but … I know I was happy with it, I’m pretty sure Max was happy with it. We just didn’t get it done probably because of what was happening,” Volkanovski told MMA Junkie. “They didn’t want to lock nothing in if they didn’t know, but we still don’t really know exactly what’s happening but it’s not looking good. I’m not going to try and talk the fight up because right now there’s nothing happening but yeah, it was close.
“I know that’s the fight I wanted to have in Australia. I still think that’s the biggest fight for me. I still think it’s the biggest fight for the division. I still think it’s the biggest fight for the UFC, and if we could still make this Aussie card happen sometime this year, I believe that’s what the Australian fans deserve – a rematch, you know? Max was a great champion and I’ll prove myself once again in front of my home crowd.”
Volkanovski dethroned Holloway last December in a performance where he out-struck the Hawaiian and shut down his offense in a unanimous decision win.
But he thinks he can top that first performance by securing a finish in the rematch.
“He’s a great fighter. I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a fighter – so does my team,” Volkanovski said. “We gave him the respect he deserves. That’s why I had to go with that game plan. I still think I could have got the finish. I still believe that the finish is there. I still think if we fight again, I’ve got the feeling that I’m going to go out there and finish him inside the five (rounds), definitely.
“To go out there and shut Max like that and outstrike him is really setting a statement. If anyone knows the game, they know that not many people can actually go out there and do that. So that’s saying something. But I believe the next time we face, if that match happens, I’m finishing him inside the five, 100 hundred percent.”
After having to pull the plug on UFC 249, the promotion is targeting an event on May 9, and is looking to resume shows at the UFC Apex Center in Las Vegas, as well as the proposed “Fight Island” that UFC president Dana White says should be ready by next month.
Volkanovski says he’s more than willing to compete on “Fight Island,” just as long as he’s able to head there early and get enough time to prepare.
“If this island thing is legit, and they can get me on this island to do my camp and then fight, I’m all for it,” Volkanovski said. “Give me a little camp there with my team, even if it’s the (City Kickboxing) boys, even if we’re all on the same card. We all do the camps with each other on the island, and then we fight – 100 percent I’ll be down for that. I think that will be unreal. But we just don’t know what’s happening.”
Alexander Volkanovski says he'll finish Max Holloway in featherweight title rematch