Getty Max Holloway
Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway lost to the current 145-pound king, Alexander Volkanovski, for a third time at UFC 276 last weekend. And combat sports analyst Teddy Atlas shared a strong take on “Blessed.”
The two battled during the July 2nd co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and Volkanovski swept the judges’ scorecards after putting on a masterclass performance, staying ahead of Holloway for virtually the whole fight.
The UFC sent Holloway to the hospital after the affair, so he didn’t take part in the post-fight press conference. Blessed did take to social media, however, praising Volkanovski and throwing his support out for “The Great’s” 155-pound title quest. “I’m still up 2-0 on knockdowns for trilogy,” Holloway tweeted on July 3. “Prob gonna need a 4th to settle this. 😂 Just playing. Congrats to my brother @alexvolkanovski. Go get that 55 strap. You earned the shot. You’re #1 P4P right now.”
“To all the fans do not cry for me Argentina. This is part of life. We need to rebuild and we will. I love you!”
Atlas Said the Man Who Showed Up Last Saturday Was ‘Not Holloway’
Although Atlas believes Volkanovski continues to improve as a mixed martial artist, he doesn’t think that was entirely why Holloway was beaten from pillar to post in Las Vegas. During a recent episode of “THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas” podcast, the renowned boxing and MMA analyst thinks Blessed succumbed to the pressure of the moment.
Holloway was facing the fact that if he lost to Volkanovski, he wouldn’t receive another 145-pound title fight until The Great was beaten or gone from the division, rendering Blessed a “sick and destroyed person.”
“Volkanovski keeps getting better, let’s start with that,” Atlas said via Sportskeeda.com. “But no, I don’t think that’s what was at play here [with Max] … I thought that [Max] felt that pressure where this is [his] last shot at it, possibly… some of it had to do with Volkanovski, but bear with me he basically threw it out the window, and he became just a sick and destroyed person. That’s not Holloway, that hasn’t been the great Holloway.”
After going 0-3 against Volkanovski, Holloway’s professional mixed martial arts record fell to 23-7. It’s unclear where Blessed goes from here, whether he wants to stick it out at 145 pounds or try his hand at lightweight.
Holloway Showed Interest in Lightweight Prior to UFC 276
Before Blessed fought Volkanovski in the trilogy match, he spoke with “The MMA Hour’s” Ariel Helwani about potentially moving up to 155 pounds.
“We’ll see what happens,” Holloway said via MMA Fighting. “Never say never, right? There’s interesting fights up there, especially with [Charles] Oliveira leading the pack and stuff. So we’ll see what happens. I can’t wait. First things first, it’s Alex, July 2. Let’s bring back balance to the world.”
Holloway has fought once in the UFC’s lightweight division. As featherweight champion, he moved up to 155 pounds and competed against Dustin Poirier for the interim strap in April 2019 at UFC 236.
The fight didn’t go Blessed’s way, however, dropping a unanimous decision to “The Diamond” after a hard-fought battle.