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‘I hate saying it’… Alexander Volkanovski highlights only downside to Max Holloway’s ‘incredible’ UFC 318 win   thumbnail

‘I hate saying it’… Alexander Volkanovski highlights only downside to Max Holloway’s ‘incredible’ UFC 318 win  

Alexander Volkanovski was full of praise for his three-time rival after watching him win at UFC 318.

Max Holloway outpointed Dustin Poirier over five rounds to retain his BMF belt on Saturday night.

The judges’ scorecards were unanimous and lopsided in his favor, but ‘Blessed’ did endure a scary moment at the end of round two.

Dustin Poirier dropped him and unleashed a barrage of ground strikes that might’ve ended the fight if the horn hadn’t sounded to bring the second stanza to a close.

Dustin Poirier elbows Max Holloway at UFC 318

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

Alexander Volkanovski highlights Max Holloway’s chin issue

Max Holloway was believed to have the best chin in MMA for the majority of his career.

However, the former featherweight champion has now been dropped in three consecutive bouts, including his lone knockout loss to Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 in October 2024.

Volkanovski believes that’s a sign that Holloway’s chin is not what it used to be.

‘The Great’ says fans should expect a different fighting style from his old foe moving forward.

“We haven’t really seen Max dropped like that. Like, getting hurt,” Volkanovski said.

“I don’t know, I hate saying it. You talk about it, but is the chin exactly the same? I don’t know.

“I don’t know if I can say it is. So if they fight again, or moving forward, Max can’t rely on his chin like he used to, got to be a bit more strategic.”

Alexander Volkanovski praises ‘incredible’ Max Holloway

The chin question was the only slightly negative spin Volkanovski could put on UFC 318.

For the rest of his reaction video, he simply heaped praise on Holloway‘s ability to bounce back from adversity.

“I’m going to give Max a moment right now to just say how incredible that was,” Volkanovski added.

“It is not easy to come back from losses. He’s showed time and time again from big losses, not just little losses, like world title losses off of tears.

“Even our third fight, to win the way I did, you’re probably thinking, ‘Oh, am I done?’. You’re going to start having some negative thoughts.

“Incredible fight from Max and to come back like that, touché mate.”

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