Alexander Volkanovski claims Max Holloway is a "bit of a sore loser" (Exclusive) 

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski believes that his opponent and former champion Max Holloway hasn't really been himself since the pair's first clash at UFC 245. Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway are set to run it back this Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 251 at the Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

Alexander Volkanovski secured a unanimous decision win against Holloway in their first meeting and in the lead-up to the rematch, the Hawaiian native has been critical of Volkanovski and jokingly referred to the champ as an "Olympic level point karate fighter", taking a dig at Volkanovski’s performance in the fight.

Alexander Volkanovski claims Max Holloway has been "saying crazy things" lately

Ahead of the fight, I got the opportunity to interact with Alexander "The Great" Volkanovski at the virtual media day for UFC 251 where I asked him to respond to the challenger's "Olympic level point Karate fighter" barb. The champ responded by saying Holloway "has been saying some crazy things" recently and that "Blessed" is making such comments because losing his prized featherweight title at UFC 245 was a tough pill to swallow. Alexander Volkanovski feels that Holloway is "a bit of a sore loser".

"I don't know where he is going with this. He's been saying some crazy things. This Olympic level point karate thing is just funny. If you watch the fight and listen to the commentators from the fight, they talked about how my punches are power punches and how am I going to be able to keep that up throughout the fight because I might tire from putting everything into my shots. The funny thing about what he's saying is the fact that he's known for his volume punches, he's known for his 'pitter-patter'. He works people out early and just increases the volume of his shots in the later round. He's never been a power puncher so I just don't know where he's trying to go with this. He's just got all these weird narratives that it just sounds a little crazy at the moment."

Volkanovski made it pretty clear that Holloway's attempts at playing these mindgames will prove futile because "The Great" doesn't pay heed to any of this; in fact, Volkanovski believes that if anything, the pressure seems to be getting to the former champ's head.

"Look, if he's trying to get people to believe the s**t he's been saying, well I'm not letting it get to me. It seems like it's getting to him. It seems like he's a bit salty and he's been a bit of a sore loser. I guess losing is tough and that's why he's acting like that but at the same time he's saying some crazy things. "

Make sure to catch Alexander Volkanovski live in action against Max Holloway in a fight for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 251 only on Sony Ten 2.