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The likes of Michael Jai White, Michael Bisping, Carlos Condit, Stephen Thompson were left stunned by the performances of Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega in the UFC 266 main event.
During a recent edition of the UFC Watch Party show, clippings from the September pay-per-view were shown alongside fighter reactions. 'The Great' might have won the encounter via unanimous decision but he was taken to his limits by Ortega.
Featherweight champion Volkanovski miraculously escaped a guillotine and a triangle choke attempt by challenger 'T-City' in the third round and retained his belt. The bout is a 'Fight of the Year' contender and the watch party enjoyed it too.
Watch UFC fighters react to the wild UFC 266 headliner between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega below:
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 3 isn't booked yet as UFC plays the waiting game
Alexander Volkanovski is without a next opponent right now. UFC president Dana White is keen to book him in for a trilogy fight with Max Holloway.
However, after his victory over Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night 197 last month, Holloway didn't seem too interested in a championship clash. Instead, 'Blessed' called out Conor McGregor for a rematch during the post-fight octagon interview.
During a recent chat with The AllStar, Volkanovski stressed that the UFC wanted to book him in a third matchup with Holloway sometime around March 2022. He added that he was sick of Holloway's games:
"The UFC have always made it clear that [Volkanovski vs. Holloway] is what we’re waiting on. I said I wanted to fight earlier but division’s in a weird situation. We’ve got guys that are close. If Giga Chikadze and Calvin Kattar fought now, there’s an option if Giga goes out and takes him out [at UFC Fight Night 200 in January]. You got Arnold Allen on winning streaks... Around March is gonna probably be the date [for the Holloway fight]. People are gonna play whatever games they want and do whatever. You know me, I don’t really play the games," said Volkanovski.
Watch Alexander Volkanovski in conversation with MMA journalist John Hyon Ko below:
