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ABU DHABI – Max Holloway deserved it.
Holloway (22-6 MMA, 18-6 UFC) beat Calvin Kattar (22-5 MMA, 6-3 UFC) in an unbalanced way at UFC on ABC 1 – and according to his boss, Dana White, he did enough to earn UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski a third crack.
“I think we have to (give Holloway a third shot),” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I think we have to do it. I mean, when you’re the champion you have the top five guys in the world shooting you. When you are the # 1 in the world, you have the top 10 guys in the world. Sometimes # 8 is more dangerous than # 3.
“Tonight he fought a bad guy that a lot of people thought he was going to beat him. He went out and treated him like No.6, so he did what he needed to do in spectacular fashion tonight. I think he deserves to fight Volkanovsky again.
Despite Volkanovski’s past reluctance to give Holloway a third chance to win since December 2019, White believes the circumstances are different. As the champion, White has indicated that Volkanovski must realize that Holloway is undeniably one of the toughest challenges for him.
“Look, he’s got this Ortega fight coming up,” White said. “I think for a guy like him watching this fight tonight when he’s No.1 – and like I told you tonight a lot of people I respect thought Calvin Kattar was going to win this fight. tonight – the way he looked, Volkanovsky can’t even deny that Max deserves another shot.
Before a third title fight against Holloway is booked, however, Volkanovski will have to go through next challenger Brian Ortega. The two featherweights were booked to fight at UFC 260 on March 27. The 145-pound title fight will serve as the main co-event for UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic against Francis Ngannou 2.
UFC on ABC 1 took place on Saturday at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The main card airs simultaneously on ABC and ESPN + after preliminaries on ESPN / ESPN +.
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