Max Holloway has labelled long-time foe Alexander Volkanovski the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC after the Australian came out on top in their trilogy bout at UFC 276 on Sunday.
Volkanovski lifted the rivalry to 3-0 in his favour with an emphatic defence of his featherweight crown against the former champion at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, coming through their third encounter by unanimous decision.
Holloway was heavily beaten, with the Hawaiian leaving the clash significantly bloodied and bruised. The victory extended Volkanovski’s win streak to 22 (12-0 in the UFC), with the manner of the performance only cementing his position towards the very summit of the sport.
The Australian had gone into the match-up as the UFC's No 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter - with only welterweight champion Kamaru Usman ahead of him in the overall standings.
On Sunday, immediately following his success, Volkanovski reiterated his desire to go up to lightweight to challenge for double-champion status.
And Holloway seems to agree. In his first public comments since the defeat, he jokingly tweeted: “I’m still up 2-0 on knockdowns for trilogy. Prob [going to] need a 4th to settle this. Just playing. Congrats to my brother [Alexander Volkanovski].
"Go get that [lightweight] strap. You earned the shot. You’re No. 1 [pound-for-pound] right now. To all the fans, do not cry for me, Argentina. This is part of life. We need to rebuild and we will. I love you.”
Volkanovski and Holloway first squared off in December 2019 before meeting once again the following July, during the inaugural Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. All three bouts have gone to the judges' scorecards.
