Alexander Volkanovski has clear advantage vs. Max Holloway in one regard, coach explains

Eugene Bareman doesn’t think Max Holloway’s had enough time to make necessary adjustments to beat Alexander Volkanovski.

Bareman, the City Kickboxing head coach who trains Volkanovski, helped form a remarkable game plan that led to shutting down Holloway to claim the title last December at UFC 245. Volkanovski (21-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) punished Holloway with heavy leg kicks and didn’t allow him to dictate the pace like he usually does.

The pair will have a rematch in the co-main event next week at UFC 251 in Abu Dhabi, and while Bareman expects Holloway to have made some adjustments, he thinks it ultimately won’t work for him.

“In this fight, we know that he’s gonna change some stuff,” Bareman told Submission Radio. “And for the most part, it’s hard for us to figure out what’s that gonna be. Like, there’s no data on it like there was for the first fight. So, there’s gonna have to be some adaptation on the fly. We’re just gonna have to see what happens. But the other question is, if Max tries to change too much – because there’s such a thing as trying to change too much in a short period of time.

“You know, people talk about how Max has to find a way to mitigate the leg kicking that we did, which startled a lot of his game. So, people were saying that he’s gonna have to check those kicks and stuff. But to check those kicks is like, the way he stands and stuff, he stood like that for a decade. Now, you can check my calendar and my watch, but you’re gonna change a decade’s worth of work in a few months? That could possibly take away from your game if you’re gonna do that.”

Bareman thinks Holloway (21-5 MMA, 17-5 UFC) will eventually revert to his old ways that have worked so well for him and resulted in his almost five-year unbeaten run he’d been on.

“Smart coaches, they don’t change that much, especially in a shorter period of time like they have,” Bareman said. “Max, I just know from experience, to change some of the things that they’re trying to take away from Alex, it takes years. It takes years of ingraining that. And I don’t know, Max might be a super athlete that can learn at a different rate to everybody else, but for me, that’s the interesting part.

“What changes are they gonna make that aren’t necessarily, that they’re gonna be able to learn in a short period of time since the first fight, that won’t take away from Max’s game? I’m interested to see.”

While the first recipe worked to perfection for Volkanovski, Bareman says a few changes will be implemented on their side, too. The fight went the distance, and there’s plenty for Holloway’s team to pick up on, as well.

But when it comes down to fundamentals, Bareman said Holloway has a lot more adjusting to do, and he doubts he will have had enough time to make the necessary changes.

“Our strategy is gonna change a bit for the second fight,”Bareman said. “It has to. We have an obligation to change a few things because he’s seen what we did in the first this fight. But we’re changing strategy; we don’t have to change the way that Alex (fights). We don’t have to change anything fundamentally with Alex. What they’ve got to do is change some of the fundamental things that Max does. That’s gonna take years.

“If they do try to change it, then more power to them, but that’s gonna work to our advantage. What we’re changing is just strategy. We don’t have to change the way he stands. We don’t have to change the way he steps over. We just have to adapt it slightly differently so that it’s not so predictable. I think from a coaching point of view, I think we’ve got a much easier job than what they have to do.”