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#2 UFC World Featherweight Title: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Max Holloway

Can Max Holloway regain his UFC title from Alexander Volkanovski?

Around a year ago – after his dominant win over Frankie Edgar – the UFC were quick to proclaim Max Holloway as the greatest Featherweight of all time. The Edgar fight was his third UFC title defense and was his 14th win in a row at 145lbs.

His defense against Australian Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 245 seemed almost academic. And then the unthinkable happened. ‘Blessed’ found himself outpointed in a fight that was almost a pure kickboxing match. And suddenly, we had a new UFC Featherweight Champion. If nothing else, it proved the old adage that it’s harder to retain a title than it is to win it to be true.

Despite a number of other deserving contenders out there – namely Zabit Magomedsharipov and Chan Sung Jung – the UFC were always likely to book an immediate rematch. Thanks to COVID-19, it’s taken a little longer than expected, but here we are.

Essentially, the easiest thing to do to break down this fight is to look at how Volkanovski won the first time, and ask whether Holloway can make the correct adjustments.

‘Alexander the Great’ basically surprised Holloway at UFC 245 with two things – his speed, and his leg kicks. The early rounds saw the Aussie avoid Holloway’s combinations – something that his previous opponents had never really been able to do. And rather than attempt to crack his chin, Volkanovski instead focused on those leg kicks.

That meant that by the time he did slow down slightly, ‘Blessed’ simply didn’t have the movement to close the angles down on the Aussie in order to really unleash his combinations. Sure, Holloway took over in the fifth round, but by that point, it was far too late.

Max Holloway will likely be far better prepared for the leg kicks and for Alexander Volkanovski’s speed in this rematch. But given his style is based all around pressure, stalking forward, and an ability to corral an opponent with his strikes, can he avoid that offense?

It’s very debatable. Holloway’s success in the UFC has traditionally come from his length and reach. At 5’11” he’s a taller Featherweight and while his 69” reach isn’t freakish, combined with his height it’s allowed him to use a snake-like jab to abuse the likes of Edgar and Brian Ortega.

However, Volkanovski will enjoy a reach advantage over him even if he’s the shorter man. He also appeared to be quicker than ‘Blessed’ in their first fight, and even if he can’t land his leg kicks, he’s very tricky to actually hit.

In my preview for their first fight, I felt like Volkanovski would need to get into Holloway’s face and pressure him in order to win. And while that wasn’t the case in the end, it’s still an option for him, as he’s probably a stronger clinch fighter than ‘Blessed’.

That of course makes things even trickier for Holloway. Throw in the fact that Holloway has taken a simply terrible amount of cumulative damage over the last few years – and has even suffered from post-concussion type symptoms – and it becomes harder to trust in his skills.

If Max Holloway can overcome Alexander Volkanovski in this one then he’d have a very fair claim to being the greatest of all time at this weight. Overall though, I feel like this is a bad match for him, as it’s going to be tricky for him to make the right adjustments without falling into another trap.

The Pick: Volkanovski via unanimous decision