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LAS VEGAS >> Put the doubt away. No question is left unanswered.
Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski finished off his third win over Max Holloway in 31 months with the dominant performance he longed for all week, scoring a five-round shutout in the co-main event of UFC 276 on Saturday night at a sold-out T-Mobile Arena.
In the same arena where he ended Holloway’s 13-fight win streak and title reign at 145 pounds in December 2019, Volkanovski got the decisive victory he said he would get, winning 50-45 on all three judges’ scorecards in front of a crowd of 19,649.
There was a surprising amount of trash talk between the two in the days leading up to the fight. When it was over, even Holloway, whose face and shorts were covered in blood after a bad cut opened over his left eye in the second round, couldn’t question who the best is at 145 pounds.
Holloway was transported to a nearby hospital after the fight and not available for media.
“Look, Max Holloway is an absolute beast,” Volkanovski told Joe Rogan in the Octagon after the fight. “That intensity he brought that we both had the last few days, I needed it. I really needed it. That’s why I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful in there. I know I’m the best. I just needed to remind myself.”
The rest of the world has to acknowledge that fact now.
Seven months after he beat Holloway the first time, Volkanovski scored a disputed split-decision victory that left the door open for a third fight in the near future.
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Holloway scored impressive wins over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez to keep his No. 1 contender status at 145 pounds and stay in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings at No. 6.
Volkanovski made the case he should be considered No. 1 on that list after out-boxing Holloway for 25 minutes with a left hand he said he broke during the second round.
Volkanovski — who taunted Holloway during the first round, shouting, “You’re too slow” — landed the bigger of the exchanges, was quicker to the punch, and again stayed away from any significant damage from Holloway, who is the only fighter in UFC history to land more than 3,000 strikes in his career.
Volkanovski has now won 22 fights in a row and remains perfect in the UFC.
“I just proved to you that I want to be in this Octagon as much as possible. I want to be busy,” Volkanovski said. “I don’t think this division itself can keep me busy. I want to move up, go for double champ, and I’ll keep two divisions busy.”
Holloway dropped to 23-7 and 19-7 in the UFC with his fourth loss in his last seven fights, all coming to fighters ranked in the Top 7 pound-for-pound.
Holloway was the fan favorite at every media event all week and it showed during the walk-out when he received a thundering applause.
Volkanovski was met with a scattering of boos that turned into acknowledging cheers as the fight wore on and it became and obvious that Holloway offered little for Volkanovski to be concerned about.
Any time Holloway seemed to build some momentum, Volkanovski would take it away with pinpoint striking.
Volkanovski out-struck Holloway 199 to 127. In the three fights in the series, Holloway landed 134, 102 and 127 strikes over five rounds.
By contrast, Holloway landed 230 against Rodriguez and a record 445 against Kattar.
Holloway’s past seven fights have all gone a full five rounds.