There are times in an athlete’s life when their career trajectory seems to have plateaued. Former UFC Featherweight champion Max Holloway is in that situation. Coming off a victory against the legendary Korean Zombie, Holloway is currently the top-ranked prospect in his division. For any other fighter, that means a title shot. But that doesn’t seem to be the case with the Hawaiian, despite the fact that he has beaten every other top contender.
So what’s stopping the UFC from granting him the fight? If Dana White is to be believed, it is due to Holloway’s history with the current Featherweight king, Alexander Volkanovski. The two men have gone toe-to-toe on three different occasions, all ending in favor of the Kiwi. While the first two encounters were close, the last one was a clear victory for Volkanovski, thus making Holloway 0-3 against the champ, a fact that contributes to White’s lack of interest in a possible fourth encounter.
Alexander Volkanovski is on the same page as Dana White on the matter of a fourth fight with Max Holloway
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
In his recent interview, Alexander Volkanovski opened up on his opinion of a possible fourth match with Max Holloway. Echoing Dana White’s opinion, Volkanovski stated that the matchup does not make sense. According to him, this is considering all their previous encounters have ended in a similar fashion, especially how decisively he secured the win during their last encounter, giving Holloway a 50-45 sweep.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
The statement came during the press conference of UFC 293 in Australia. In Volkanovski’s own words: “I mean, I’m not surprised, you know. I mean, it doesn’t, you know, especially after, look, he’s doing great. I mean, he’s stuck in a pretty shitty situation, you know. He’s clearly that good, you know, clearly good enough to be fighting for a title again, but it just doesn’t make sense when you’re 3-0 against a guy, especially after the last one.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Making his UFC debut back in 2012, Max Holloway has been active in the promotion for more than a decade. Within this time, ‘Blessed’ went on a 13-fight win streak, capturing the UFC gold in the process. Even after losing his title, the fighter continues to dominate the division, beating top prospects like Calvin Kattar, Yair Rodriguez, and Arnold Allen. However, despite these triumphs, the former champion has never managed to secure a win over the current champion, Alexander Volkanovski. Thus choking at the place of the top prospect, a position he has continued to claim for a while now.
Watch this Story: “He Won’t Fight Me” – Just Weeks After Conor McGregor’s Call-Out, Justin Gaethje Fuels Fight Rumors Promising to Absolutely Destroy Rival