Max Holloway breaks down Makhachev-Volkanovski 2: “It’s gonna be a tough fight”

Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway was back for another edition of “Blessed Breakdowns,” as he previewed UFC 294, taking place Saturday morning (in the United States), which will be live from Abu Dhabi.

The main event features the highly-anticipated rematch between current lightweight champion Islam Makhachev and featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski.

The first encounter between  Makhachev and Volkanovski was close, as many fans and media members felt Volkanovski had done enough to earn the nod as a two-division champion at UFC 284.

However, Makhachev, who had defeated Charles Oliveira just four months earlier to become the new champion, earned his first title defense.

Over the last four years, Holloway has hovered around the No. 1 contender spot after losing his title to Volkanovski at UFC 245. The pair has fought twice since, with Volkanovski holding a 3-0 lead.

Despite Holloway’s rival getting the spotlight, he said Wednesday that counting out Volkanovski’s chances is the wrong approach.

“I think Alex shows up from the fifth round, like the last one,” Max Holloway said.

“It’s gonna be a tough fight. A lot of people are counting Alex out, which is ridiculous. I don’t think Alex would put himself in a position to take a fight like this [lightly], especially with all the risk of him not being able to maybe get a third shot at Islam if it does go bad for a title shot and his [155] hopes is whatever.”

Holloway most recently defeated The Korean Zombie at UFC Singapore in August, improving to 2–0 in 2023 while remaining in the hunt for another title shot.

RELATED: Alexander Volkanovski believes if roles were reversed, Islam Makhachev wouldn’t step up on short notice

Holloway said if Volkanovski does pull it off, fans will quickly forget that it was a short-notice fight.

“When you look in the record books [years from now], nobody’s gonna be like, ‘Oh, he took this on 10 days notice, you know,’” Max Holloway said.

What are your thoughts on Max Holloway’s analysis of Volkanovski-Makhachev 2? Let us know, Penn Nation!