"It was like when Michael Jordan made all those three-pointers" - Daniel Cormier on an upbeat Alexander Volkanovski speaking to Max Holloway from minute one during the trilogy fight
Alexander Volkanovski delivered a striking classic against Max Holloway in the co-main event at UFC 276. Daniel Cormier likened Volkanovski's performance to Michael Jordan's epic three-pointer spree during Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Watch the footage below:
According to 'DC', Volkanovski talking to 'Blessed' from the opening minute resembled Jordan's iconic shrug gesture from the 1992 finals. The UFC Hall of Famer believes that athletes can hardly be beaten when they are performing like Jordan and Volkanovski did in the aforementioned instances. Cormier said on The DC&RC Show:
"You could see, from the very beginning that he was operating on a different level. Because, like he said, he was speaking to Max from minute one. He was talking to him, like, 'Ooh, that was there. That was close. Better be careful.' He just was like in the zone. It was like when Michael Jordan made all those three-pointers and he was like, 'Alright, I have no idea'... That's what happened to Alexander Volkanovski and when a guy is doing that, you really have no chance and he dominated Max Holloway in a way that nobody ever could have expected."
Watch the latest episode of the DC&RC Show below:
Alexander Volkanovski was fired up by Max Holloway's trash talk
Alexander Volkanovski defeated Max Holloway for a third time at UFC 276 via a dominant unanimous decision. While the Hawaiian put his legendary chin on display to go toe-to-toe against Volkanovski, 'The Great' simply outclassed him throughout.
While 'Blessed' did not do much media during camp, the former featherweight champ traded a few barbs with Volkanovski during the UFC 276 pre-fight presser.
'The Great' later claimed that Holloway's trash talk worked against the Hawaiian. The Australian claims to have gotten the "fire" in his belly from the pre-fight exchange with Holloway. Volkanovski told Sportskeeda MMA's James Lynch and other reporters during the post-fight scrum:
"He started trash-talking, I was like, ‘Thank you, I needed that.’ I said it to him, that’s why I was chilling, I was smiling, like, letting him know that it ain’t affecting me, it ain’t getting inside my head. I don’t know if it was a part of his game to get inside my head and try make me brawl or something like that and fight silly, I don’t, but I was like, ‘Mate, you just put fire in my belly. That’s all you did.’"
Watch Volkanovski's appearance at the post-fight presser below:
It's safe to say that Volkanovski's most recent performance against Holloway has solidified him as the better fighter. Considering the close nature of their first two matchups, 'The Great' seemed determined to make a statement in the trilogy match and most certainly managed to do so at UFC 276.