Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t care about silencing the critics against Max Holloway.
The UFC featherweight champion, Volkanovski (24-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC) will tangle with Holloway (23-6 MMA, 19-6 UFC) for a third time in the July 2 co-main event of UFC 276. Holding two wins over Holloway, a third fight was originally a tough sell for Volkanovski.
Their rematch at UFC 251 was a tightly contested split decision, where many believed Holloway’s hand should’ve been raised. Since then, Volkanovski has defended his title twice in back-to-back dominant performances over Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung. He hopes to seal the Holloway trilogy with a standout performance.
“I’m gonna go out there and I plan on putting a beating on him this time,” Volkanovski said Tuesday at a UFC news conference in Australia. “I really do want to (make) a statement. Obviously, getting a finish will really, you know, get that dominant win. (It) will definitely help that legacy that I want, as well. … This opportunity is here and I’m gonna take it. It’s gonna be ‘and still’ and I’m gonna put on a good performance. That’s all that’s gonna happen”
But Volkanovski’s drive is not to prove everyone wrong. He sees another win over Holloway opening plenty more doors for him.
“I don’t care,” Volkanovski said. “I don’t care about that now. That’s not why I took this fight. It wasn’t just to shut them guys up. I did originally want this trilogy to shut people up, but right now, it’s not about that. This fight is gonna be a legacy fight for me, and there’s gonna be haters no matter what you do. Even after this one, if I go out there and do what I plan on doing, there are still gonna be haters. There are still gonna be people saying stuff. We can’t worry about that. I have used it all as fuel to get me where I am, but right now it’s about me and putting myself in a good position after this one.
“I plan on going out there and really putting work on him. Again, he’s a great fighter. I’ll give him a lot of credit, he’s that number one contender, he’s done great things in this division – the reason he’s even getting a trilogy. I think really taking him out again will really put my name out there and raise that bar a lot more for me, put me in a lot better position. So, that’s why I’m taking this fight, not to shut people up. It will taste good to shut people up at the same time, but that’s not my main drive right now. But we’re here. We’re going to silence them. But if they want to keep yapping, let ’em.”
Alexander Volkanovski: Max Holloway trilogy a ‘legacy fight,’ not to shut doubters up
