Why has Max Holloway pulled out of his UFC 272 trilogy fight with Alexander Volkanovski?
Max Holloway has pulled out of his UFC 272 trilogy fight with Alexander Volkanovski after aggravating a previous injury on Thursday.
According to ESPN MMA, Holloway withdrew just days after agreeing to take on Volkanovski at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 5.
"Former UFC champion Max Holloway will not be able to challenge Alexander Volkanovski for the featherweight title in March after aggravating a prior injury Thursday, sources told ESPN. The aggravation occurred just days after Holloway, 30, accepted a trilogy bout against Volkanovski that was set to headline UFC 272 on March 5 in Las Vegas. Holloway informed the promotion of his withdrawal Thursday, sources said. UFC has not made an official announcement on changes to the event or Holloway's injury. There is no official time frame for Holloway's return," read the report.
Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) has been forced to withdraw from Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) trilogy after re-aggravating a previous injury. Happened just days after he accepted. More details here. espn.com/mma/story/_/id…
Holloway dropped his featherweight belt to Volkanovski at UFC 245 in 2019 via unanimous decision.
'Blessed' also lost his rematch against 'The Great'. He fell on the wrong side of a split decision verdict at UFC 251 in July 2020. However, several MMA pundits and fans believe Holloway won the second fight.
Max Holloway didn't initially show much interest in a trilogy bout against Alexander Volkanovski
Before and after his victory over Yair Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 42 in November last year, Max Holloway called out Conor McGregor several times. In doing so, he appeared to indicate that completing the trilogy with Alexander Volkanovski wasn't his priority.
Even in the post-fight octagon interview with Michael Bisping, Holloway didn't stake his claim for the next UFC featherweight title shot. Instead he seemed rather keen to have a rematch with McGregor and make some extra money.
"I’m on the shortlist for Conor McGregor, tell him to hit my line. We are ready whenever. To be the best, you have to beat the best and the best is ‘Blessed'. They gotta come after me, baby."
Watch Max Holloway's UFC Vegas 42 post-fight interview below: