This isn’t an invitation to re-litigate the official scorecards or argue about the official decision of this fight — it was close, it was highly competitive, and it was more than two years ago; it’s time to move on.
What this is, however, is a celebration of an outstanding fight between the two very best fighters in the featherweight division, meeting for the second time in nine months with championship gold once again hanging in the balance.
Volkanovski won the belt at UFC 245, collecting a split decision win over Holloway by executing a technical, tactical game plan that featured plenty of low kicks, sound boxing, and an impressive ability to not only withstand the Hawaiian’s pressure approach, but upset his rhythm on the feet, as well.
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The second fight was even closer, with Holloway jumping out to an early 2-0 lead on all three scorecards before the Australian started to rally. All three judges saw the third and fourth for Volkanovski, who came away on the happy side of the 2-1 split in the fifth and final round, and therefore the fight, to retain his title.
This is a wonderful example of a fighter making the right adjustments mid-fight, and the win that put Volkanovski in a position to rise to where he stands currently as arguably the top pound-for-pound and most complete fighter in the sport today.
