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Reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski was the winner in his previous two meetings with former champion Max Holloway. The Hawaiian lost his featherweight strap to Volkanovski at UFC 245 in 2019.
In the first meeting between the two men, the Australian put an end to Holloway's two-and-a-half-year run as the champion. Volkanovski won the bout via a comfortable unanimous decision.
Despite losing his title somewhat convincingly, Halloway was granted an immediate rematch. The duo met in the octagon for a second time at UFC 251 in July 2020.
The second fight was a more competitive affair. This time, Volkanovski barely edged past the former champion via a split-decision win. Many fans were of the opinion that Holloway was robbed of a much-deserved win in their rematch.
Both Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway have won two fights each since their July 2020 clash.
Volkanovski beat Brian Ortega at UFC 266 after almost getting submitted by the American twice in the third round. The 33-year-old TKO-ed Chan Sung Jung in his last fight at UFC 273.
Watch a recap of the UFC 266 fight between Volkanovski and Ortega:
Since his loss to the Australian champion, Holloway has clinched two unanimous decision wins against Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez at UFC Fight Island 7 and UFC Vegas 42, respectively.
Max Holloway talks about the significance of Alexander Volkanovski trilogy
In a recent interview with ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto, Holloway said that his trilogy fight with Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 276 is a rare occurrence. Holloway stated that you don't always get two top-10 pound-for-pound fighters facing each other:
"When in the last decade did two guys at this caliber, top pound-for-pound rankings be able to fight? I don't know... These fights don't happen. In the last decade, it just happened once [Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier]... This is why all the hardcore fans are going crazy about it."
Holloway stated that he already has five title fight wins and will be looking forward to getting his sixth by defeating Volkanovski. The American further explained that he approaches every single fight as if it were his first and last fight:
"Every single fight I always tell you Brett, I'm 0-0... And this fight is no different, you know. I'm taking this fight as this is my first fight and this could be my last fight... That's the way I'm approaching it and fans are going to be in for a treat."
Watch Max Holloway's full interview with ESPN MMA below:
