Alexander Volkanovski has had enough of Max Holloway’s continued success.

The UFC featherweight division has only had two champions since June 2017 when Holloway earned his first of two third-round TKO wins over Jose Aldo. Despite no longer holding a title thanks to Volkanovski, Holloway has remained at a championship caliber and is essentially a titleholder without a title.

Hawaii’s finest fought in just his third non-title contest this past weekend since the aforementioned Aldo encounters. With his only losses at featherweight dating back to August 2013 coming against Volkanovski, Holloway returned to the winner’s circle with a unanimous decision win over Arnold Allen. The loss was Allen’s first of his 11-fight UFC career, setting back yet another potential future challenger for the champion.

“I remember saying to him after the last fight, I just said to him, ‘Get out of my division. Stop beating up my contenders,’ I’m saying stuff like that to him,” Volkanovski told The Mac Life (h/t MMA Mania). “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 [Saturday] night, he looked great.

“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.”

Holloway’s three losses to “The Great” have him in somewhat of a limbo at 145 pounds. If he can defeat every possible other option, there would seemingly be nothing else the UFC could do aside from making a fourth fight ... assuming Volkanovski remains champion in the meantime.

Volkanovski will likely return to the division after attempting to capture lightweight gold in February against Islam Makhachev at UFC 284. Directly before the Australian lost a hard-fought unanimous decision, top contender Yair Rodriguez claimed interim featherweight gold with a second-round triangle choke submission against Josh Emmett. Volkanovski says things are currently trending toward an International Fight Week clash at UFC 290 on July 8 to unify the titles.

“I’m looking at him as a real challenger, he’s a dangerous fighter,” Volkanovski said of Rodriguez. “He could be one of the most dangerous fighters I’ve fought, really. When you talk about unpredictability, knockout power, and so many different tools, you need to take him really serious. I think I’m the best fighter in the world so am I confident? Yeah, but I know not to take this guy lightly. He’s been dominating and looking good his last few fights. Obviously, his last one he looked great. The one before that he was looking great before that happened with Brian Ortega. But again, very unpredictable so it’s exciting for me.”

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VIDEO STEW

The MMA Hour.

UFC Vegas 71 promo.

Free fight.

CCC comeback camp.

Cooking with Volk.

Poatan at Dave and Busters.

LISTEN UP

On To the Next One. MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Alex K. Lee discuss the matches to make after UFC Kansas City.

MORNING MUSIC

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Chase Hooper (11-3-1) vs. Nick Fiore (6-1); UFC Fight Night, May 20

FINAL THOUGHTS

I feel pretty confident we won’t see a fourth Volkanovski-Holloway fight ... in MMA, anyway. Yeah, I said it. If Anthony Pettis can box Roy Jones Jr., anything is possible.

Thanks for reading!

EXIT POLL

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