UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t think a fourth fight with Max Holloway makes sense.
Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) already has defeated Holloway (24-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) three times, with their trilogy at UFC 276 his most definitive win.
Since 2014, former champion Holloway has beaten every featherweight except Volkanovski. He recently defeated interim champ Yair Rodriguez, and just snapped Arnold Allen’s 10-fight winning streak in this past Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 44 headliner in Kansas City. Holloway proved he’s still No. 1 outside of the champion, and that doesn’t surprise Volkanovski one bit – except it’s knocking off his contenders.
“I just said to him like, ‘Get out of my division, and stop beating up my contenders.’ You know what I mean?” Volkanovski told The MacLife. “I’m saying stuff like that to him. Again, a lot of people are gonna sit there and before last night, ‘Oh you know, he’s fallen off,’ and all this type of stuff. I’m like, ‘Nah, it’s not that. Trust me.’ You wait till he fights again, you’re gonna forget about that the next time. And he proved it (Saturday). He looked great.”
Prior to beating Allen, Holloway did not rule out a fourth fight with Volkanovski. But Volkanovski admits Holloway is in a bit of a quandary.
“Max is a cool dude, as well, great fighter.” Volkanovski said. “But it’s just whether you’re gonna go there. Like do I see – how can it happen, right? It’s hard enough to do a trilogy when you’re two (up). A lot of people were like, ‘What are you doing? Why?’ At least there was still a bit of history and things like that where now the third one, obviously it doesn’t make sense. So it’s a tricky situation for Max, that’s for sure.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 44.
