Alexander Volkanovski retains featherweight title after Max Holloway
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In the co-main event of UFC 251 fans witnessed the featherweight title rematch between Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski. The pair had met last year where Max Holloway had lost his title to the challenger Alexander Volkanovski via a unanimous decision.
Max Holloway had been holding on to the title for over two years and had defended it three times before locking horns against Alexander Volkanovski. Holloway had been on a historic winning streak dating back to 2014 where they were on a thirteen fight winning streak.
Alexander Volkanovski, on the other hand, has been on a legendary streak. Volkanovski is currently on an eight-fight UFC win streak which includes a win over Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes. 'The Great' with this fight wants to seal his position as the best featherweight.
Max Holloway was a popular face in the featherweight division and was a fan favorite. So when he lost, fans obviously sided with him and wanted to see Max Holloway get a rematch. Alexander Volkanovski hopes to establish that his win was not a one-time thing but that he actually is the force that can take on anyone in the division. This was an important fun fight.
Alexander Volkanovski defeated Max Holloway via split decision
The fight was as close as anyone would expect it to be. Alexander Volkanovski found it difficult to maintain his stance in the early rounds of the fights. Round 1 and round 2 were very clearly taken by Max Holloway.
It was in round three that Alexander Volkanovski started tunning things up. He took the fight in command from round 4 and maintained a decent lead in round 5. The split decision seemed to just be perfect for the fight as the two had indeed given a very strong performance.
Alexander Volkanovski def. Max Holloway via Split Decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)