Alexander Volkanovski discusses possibility of Max Holloway getting another title shot
Alexander Volkanovski has been a dominant champion since capturing the featherweight throne, but Max Holloway continues to be a thorn in his side. Despite being the clear second-best 145er, the Hawaii native has already been defeated three times by the champion and could find it difficult to be given a fourth shot.
Throughout the time since losing his title, 'Blessed' has beaten three potential future contenders and looks likely to continue handing losses to possible future challengers for the belt. After his loss to Conor McGregor in 2013, the fan favorite has only ever been defeated by the current titleholder while competing in the weight class.
During a recent sit down with Israel Adesanya's brother on the FreeStylebender YouTube channel, Alexander Volkanovski discussed the possibility of Max Holloway being gifted another shot at his gold, saying:
"It's a little frustrating [that he keeps beating other contenders]. I've been saying, it's the same Max. People think he's getting down because of what I did to him the last time, it's not that. I'm evolving, I'm at my peak and understanding of the game and he's still that good... What does he have to do? I don't know, at the end of the day, anything is possible. It'll be definitely harder to sell me on it now... It's a tricky situation for him. I'm guessing he's hoping that I just lose to Yair Rodriguez or something like that... It's a tricky one, I don't know what he needs to do."
Alexander Volkanovski has his sights firmly set on defending his featherweight title and has a tough opponent up next. The tricky, unorthodox striking of Yair Rodriguez could spell disaster for the champion if he takes the challenge lightly.
With Alexander Volkanovski booked to fight, who's next for Max Holloway?
As the title picture is firmly in place, Max Holloway must look elsewhere to keep himself in the conversation at featherweight and it looks like he has somebody in mind.
Following his significant win over Arnold Allen last time out, the 31-year-old announced he would love to face The Korean Zombie next, a fight that has eluded him in his 11-year UFC career.
Chan Sung Jung replied to the callout, insisting he would love to lock horns with Holloway in a post shared on social media. Although nothing has been made official, both fighters are healthy and available to fight.