Alexander Volkanovski shuts down talk of a fourth fight with Max Holloway: “It’s a hard fight to sell”

By Lewis Simpson - May 23, 2023

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has zero desire in a potential fourth fight with Max Holloway.

Alexander Volkanovski

The history between arguably the two greatest featherweights in UFC history dates back to 2019, when Volkanovski first attained the title at UFC 254, snapping Holloway’s fourteen-fight unbeaten streak at 145lbs. Since then, the pair have met a further twice, with the Australian edging a split decision at UFC 251 and then putting on a clinic at UFC 276 to go (3-0) over the former champ.

After the pair sharing over an hour in the Octagon with one another, it’s clear Volkanovski has Holloway’s number, but that hasn’t stopped the 31-year-old from still knocking off contenders with the aim of securing a fourth fight with the champion.

When asked if he would entertain a fight with Holloway for a fourth time during a recent episode of The MMA Fan Podcast, Volkanovski visually and vocally was uninterested, stating it would be hard to put to the fans.

RELATED: ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI BELIEVES MAX HOLLOWAY IS IN A “TRICKY SITUATION” FOLLOWING WIN OVER ARNOLD ALLEN AT UFC KANSAS CITY

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski on possible fourth Max Holloway fight

“It’s a hard fight to sell, you know what I mean? Three fights, you know, three wins with a guy and then doing a fourth one and then what if he does win? What are you going to do? We’re going to have to go another two times? Obviously, that wouldn’t happen. I definitely believed and proved I’ve got his number.”

Despite closing the door to the prospect of meeting Holloway in the near future, Volkanovski wouldn’t rule it out completely. Still, the featherweight kingpin struggles to envision how the UFC could sell it given how the last three fights unfolded.

“How do you sell it? Volkanovski asked. “I mean, never say never, but like I said, I want fights that are going to excite me. Honestly, right now, I need to see more maybe, maybe it would be different, but yeah, that doesn’t sound very exciting. It’s not very fun to talk about.”

Earlier in the year at UFC 284, Volkanovski suffered his second career loss to Islam Makhachev when trying to become a two-weight division champion. Persistent in remaining active, Volkanovski already has his next outing set for this Summer. He will unify the featherweight title with interim holder Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 on July 8.

As for Holloway, he’s coming off a unanimous decision victory over Arnold Allen back in April, with his eyes still set firm on earning another shot at featherweight gold.

Do you think Max Holloway can earn a fourth fight with Alexander Volkanovski if he continues to knock off contenders? Let us know in the comments!


Topics:

Alex Volkanovski Max Holloway UFC