Alexander Volkanovski urges Max Holloway to make lightweight move: ‘Stop beating up my contenders’
Undisputed UFC featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski has backed former division titleholder and opponent, Max Holloway to consider a move to the lightweight pile, calling for him to stop “beating up” contenders at 145lbs.
Volkanovski, the current undisputed featherweight gold holder, most recently headlined UFC 284 back in February of this year in Perth, Australia – suffering his first promotional loss in a unanimous decision defeat to lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev.
Prior to that, New South Wales native, Volkanovski co-headlined UFC 276 back in July of last year against Holloway, handing the Hawaiian a third loss in the pair’s trilogy fight, cementing his status as featherweight kingpin.
Expected to return to the Octagon at International Fight Week in July at UFC 290, Volkanovski is targeted to clash with interim featherweight champion, Yair Rodríguez in a championship unification fight.
Alexander Volkanovski praises Max Holloway following UFC Kansas City win
Sharing his thoughts on Holloway’s recent UFC Fight Night Kansas City victory over the surging, Arnold Allen over the weekend, Volkanovski failed to rule out a fourth fight with the former champion in the future, however, urged him to stop taking out contenders at featherweight.
“I remember saying to him (Max Holloway) after the last fight, I just said to him, ‘Get out of my division. Stop beating up my contenders,” Alexander Volkanovski told The Mac Life during a recent interview. “I’m saying stuff like that to him. A lot of people are gonna sit there, before last [Saturday] night, ‘Oh, he’s fallen off’ and all this stuff. Nah, it’s not that. Trust me. Wait until he fights again and you’re gonna forget about that the next time.”
“He proved it last night (against Arnold Allen), he looked great,” Alexander Volkanovski explained. “You feel bad too, in that situation, like, ‘Why does that guy gotta be here and be in my damn division?’ Obviously, Max is a cool dude, as well, great fighter. It’s a tricky situation for Max, that’s for sure, but you never know.”
As mentioned previously, Holloway headlined UFC Kansas City against Ipswich native, Allen, landing a unanimous judging victory – before noting his interest in fighting former two-time title challenger, Chan Sung Jung in a rumored return to Australia for the organization.
