Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski hint at trilogy fight being signed
Fans of the featherweight division have been put on high alert after recent posts from former champion Max Holloway and current titleholder Alexander Volkanovski. The two men, who have faced each other twice inside the octagon, have teased that a potential trilogy fight has been signed.
Volkanovski got the better of Holloway on both occasions, winning the belt and then immediately defending it. However, the nature of the fights, which were both close, mean a trilogy would appear to make sense.
Showing no signs of fatigue or upset at his title losses, 'Blessed' put on back-to-back Fight of the Nights last year to earn himself another shot. Holloway's display against Calvin Kattar in 2021 is considered one of the greatest individual performances of the modern era.
Teasing a potential third bout with the former champ on Twitter, Volkanovski wrote:
"Back in fight camp."
Back in fight camp 👊 https://t.co/P6uYWTTkSM
In a similarly teasing tweet, Holloway posted a gif showing a contract being signed:
https://t.co/8NVJvunK4i
With just a 30 minute difference between the two posts, it is certainly not out of the realms of possibility that they are referring to one another.
11-0 since making his UFC debut, Alexander Volkanovski is proving to be one of the best featherweights in history. With three successful title defenses in a row, including a dominant display against 'The Korean Zombie', Volkanovski's only performances that have raised any doubt result-wise have been against Max Holloway.
The two men have certainly proved they are a gulf in class above the rest of the division. A trilogy fight could prove to be one of the biggest in featherweight history. While a third victory would cement Volkanovski's legacy, a win for Holloway would likely mean this feud could continue.
Alexander Volkanovski has wanted a trilogy fight with Max Holloway for a while
After his performance at UFC 273, Alexander Volkanovski confirmed then that he'd be interested in a trilogy fight with Max Holloway. A dominant display over 'TKZ' meant that 'The Great' now boasts three title defenses, as many as Holloway had before losing out to the Australian.
Speaking to BT Sport following his Performance of the Night-worthy win on April 9, Volkanovski confirmed that a trilogy fight has always been on the cards.
"He keeps talking about other fights and moving up, money fights and all that. If he wants to do that then fine, do that. I'll just keep doing my thing. We'll see. Obviously, we're going to talk to them. We'll make the next fight for the right reasons. If there's going to be a trilogy, it's going to be for the right reasons. Not because I want to prove something to haters and whatnot. But it is still a fight that I want, and I think the crowd wants."
The clash has the potential to be one of the biggest in the division's history. Fans of both men will be hoping that it can live up to spectacle of the first two.
Watch Alexander Volkanovski speak to Caroline Pearce for BT Sport here: