A close split decision victory for Alexander Volkanovski sees his reign as featherweight king continue at UFC 251.
The story of the fight, like the first, was the leg kick, only this time around Holloway, who left kicks relatively unchecked in the first, fired back with his own.
Holloway responded to almost every kick from Volkanovski with a low kick or high kick, and occasionally a flying knee – fighting fire with fire.
The strategy was working well in the early rounds, Holloway caught the Australian with right high-kick that had him wobbled at the end of the first.
Volkanoski continued to face adversity in the second, with Holloway finding a home for his right uppercut, that dropped the champion again.
AND STILL!!! Featherweight champion @alexvolkanovski
With the win Volkanovski becomes the first Australian to officially defend a UFC title. 🇦🇺🇦🇺#UFCFightIsland #UFC251 pic.twitter.com/ULyCloBkjV
— Fight News Australia (@fightnewsaus) July 12, 2020
In the fourth, the tide started to change when ‘the Great’ used his wrestling to mix up the exchanges, closing the distance and avoiding the high-kicks and knees that were causing him issue from Holloway.
Two judges thought that Volkanovski had done enough to secure a split decision win, though the fight was evidently much closer than the first.
Holloway will likely need another win or two against top-contenders to get his third shot at besting Volkanovski, but after that close performance, a trilogy is not off the table.
