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Alexander Volkanovski has suggested that he was caught off-guard by the adjustments Max Holloway made for their rematch. Volkanovski beat Holloway via unanimous decision to win the UFC featherweight title in December 2019.
‘The Great’ then beat Holloway via split decision in their closely contested rematch in July 2020. In a video posted to UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya's FREESTYLEBENDER YouTube channel, Volkanovski discussed the aforementioned rematch, stating:
“I was definitely caught off-guard. I didn’t think he would make that many adjustments. You don’t wanna say caught off-guard. I definitely found it harder to make the adjustment straight away; where usually I compete with, I spar different people. That’s why I do it. I like figuring people out.”
He continued:
“But I guess I had one thing in my head, and I thought this is like a style will be there. I didn’t expect exactly what he did, so it threw me off a little bit. So it definitely took me a while to realize what I needed to do. So definitely, threw me off, which, credit to him. That’s not easy to do.”
Volkanovski highlighted that it’s tough for a fighter to change their style, particularly when they’ve had significant success with it for a long time. He lauded Holloway for changing his style to make adjustments for their rematch.
However, Volkanovski emphasized that he made mid-fight adjustments to counter Holloway’s adjustments. ‘The Great’ indicated that making mid-fight adjustments is even tougher. He then proceeded to praise both ‘Blessed’ and himself for the adjustments they made in the rematch.
Check out Alexander Volkanovski’s statements at 13:00 in the video below:
Chael Sonnen believes a "rule is being broken" for Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway 3
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will defend his title against Max Holloway at UFC 276 on July 2. Ahead of the highly anticipated trilogy matchup, Chael Sonnen addressed their rivalry and opined that Holloway won their first two fights.
Sonnen spoke in an edition of Beyond the Fight. He explained that elite fighters such as Colby Covington and Robert Whittaker didn’t get a third shot at the champions in their respective divisions after losing to them twice. He added that, in Holloway’s case, a rule is being broken because he’s actually beaten ‘Volk’ twice and deserves the trilogy matchup. Sonnen said:
"I think he [Volkanovski] lost both fights to Max... Even though that's not being talked about, it's the whole reason we're seeing part three… He [Holloway] can't get a title fight. Well, because he's already had it twice. That rule is being broken for Max and it's for the reason I just stated."
Watch Sonnen’s take in the video below:
