Australian Alex Volkanovski believes he is closing on the mantle of the greatest UFC featherweight champion, after digging deep to retain his world title with a contentious split-points win over former champion Max Holloway in Abu Dhabi.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Two judges scored it 48-47 to Volkanovski, with the third seeing it the opposite way.
Some pundits, media, social media and UFC boss Dana White felt Holloway did enough to win, as he landed more strikes in each of the first three rounds
But the champion stayed composed under early fire and pushed the pace in the last two rounds of the UFC 251 bout on Yas Island.
White was critical of the judges.
"You can't leave it to those guys, we've got some bad judging," White said.
Hawaiian Holloway - who lost the belt to Volkanovski in Las Vegas last December - won the first two rounds, scoring a knock down in each.
But the 31-year old champion from Windang on the NSW south coast, fought back, taking down the challenger in both the fourth and fifth.
"The first two rounds were tight but I showed what champions are made of,' Volkanovski said.
'To dig deep and show I have got so many tools and make adjustments mid-fight.
"It just shows you my fight IQ. It shows you the type of fighter I am and it shows a great heart."
It is Volkanovski's 19th straight MMA win following his only loss and he improved his UFC record to 9-0.
He said he was just a couple of title defences away from being the best UFC featherweight of all time.
"I'm the best featherweight, in the world right now but I want to be the GOAT and you need title defences to do that and you need (to beat) number one contenders to do that," he said
As the Volkanovski camp predicted, Holloway came out more aggressively than in the opening rounds of their first fight.
Utilising a narrower stance than in thelr last clash, the much taller 28-year-old challenger showed good variety, landing shots with the knee, leg and hands and controlled distance, not allowing Volkanovski to get inside.
He put Volkanovski down with a kick to the head in the first and an uppercut in the second but the champion immediately bounced back to his feet after each knockdown.
The third was the closest round, with Volkanovksi starting to find his range with his fists in addition to the kicks that served him so well in their first meeting.
Volkanovski upped his work rate through the last two rounds, tagging Holloway with several punches in both and scored a takedown in the fourth and two more in the fifth.
In two other title fights, Kamaru Usman retained his welterweight crown with a unanimous points win over late replacement Jorge Masvidal and Petr Yan captured the vacant,bantamweight strap with a fifth-round stoppage of former featherweight king and Volkanovski victim, Jose Aldo.
Australian Associated Press
