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The co-main event of UFC 276 featured Max Holloway and featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, arguably two of the best featherweights to ever grace the UFC octagon.
Volkanovski put on a masterclass on July 2 and got the better of 'Blessed' throughout the five-round fight. In the end, 'The Great' cruised to a comfortable decision victory by scoring 50-45 on all three judges' scorecards.
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The trilogy fight had a great storyline behind it. Hollway and 'The Great' first locked horns at UFC 245 for the featherweight title. Volkanovski dethroned 'Blessed' that night to become the new featherweight king via unanimous decision.
The second encounter took place at UFC 251 and was a much closer fight than the first one. However, in the end, it was the Australian who took home the victory via split decision.
Many believe that Holloway was the rightful victor in the second title fight. 'Blessed' went on to score two impressive victories against Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez to earn a third fight against 'The Great' at UFC 276.
The fight started with both fighters landing shots at each other in the opening round.
In the second round, a blow by Volkanovski caused a cut on 'Blessed's' left eye which resulted in heavy bleeding.
'The Great' started to overwhelm the former champion in the second and third rounds. Ironically, Holloway seemingly faced difficulty keeping up with 'The Great's' pace and volume.
By the time the contest entered the championship rounds, it was clear that the 30-year-old needed a finish to win the contest. However, it was Volakanovski who kept the pressure on the Hawaiian for the the last two rounds eventually securing a dominant decision victory.
Alexander Volkanovski calls for a lightweight title shot
After delivering one of the best performances of his MMA career at UFC 276, Alexander Volkanovski spoke to Joe Rogan about his future plans in a post-fight octagon interview.
'The Great' declared that he wanted to stay busy and thus, wanted to be a champion in two different weight divisions:
"I just proved to you that I wanna be in this octagon as much as possible. I wanna be busy. I don't think this division it self can keep me busy. I wanna move up, go for double-champ [staus] and I'll keep two divisions busy."
Watch Alexander Volkanovski's post-fight interview with Joe Rogan below:
The UFC lightweight title is currently vacant as Charles Oliveira was stripped of the championship after missing weight at UFC 274. Oliveira is expected to be on one side of the octagon when the lightweight belt is contested again. The other side could possibly be occupied by Islam Makhachev, but that could potentially change after 'The Great's' post-fight statement.
