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Islam Makhachev's title defense against Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294 left everyone stunned, including former featherweight champion Max Holloway.
Holloway, who fought and lost to Volkanovski on three separate occasions, tweeted the four words that every fight fan was thinking after watching the main event:
"This sport is crazy."
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The reaction came from Makhachev's stunning knockout of Volkanovski that came from a head kick leading to vicious ground and pound. The win was Makhachev's second straight over Volkanovski and his first clean KO since knocking out Gleison Tibau at UFC 220.
Alexander Volkanovski suffered only the third loss of his career — two now coming against Islam Makhachev — and just his second time getting finished. Ironically, the only other time he got finished came via a head kick as well in his fourth professional fight.
Recently, Max Holloway has begun increasing his social media presence by posting more UFC-related content on his Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube accounts. Holloway is notorious for his interest in gaming as well and actively streams on Twitch.
Max Holloway's history with Alexander Volkanovski
Max 'Blessed' Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski first met in 2019 when Holloway was then the long-reigning UFC featherweight champion. Volkanovski was able to get his hand raised that night, beginning a three-fight-long rivalry spanning across three years.
Holloway, largely based on his legacy and popularity, was given an immediate rematch at UFC 251 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Volkanovski was given a controversial split decision victory, leading to a rare third fight in which one fighter beat the other twice. Volkanovski was the most dominant in the third fight, thus ending the rivalry.
Although they have had their differences, there is no animosity between the two UFC legends. Following their third fight, Holloway tweeted:
"Congrats to my brother @alexvolkanovski. Go get that 55 strap. You earned the shot. You're #1 P4P right now."
