“Literally Hit Me Pretty Hard”: Max Holloway Reveals the Hardest Hitter at 145lbs; Dismisses Alexander Volkanovski

Max Holloway added yet another feather to his cap. The 31-year-old had a spectacular victory against Arnold Allen at UFC on ESPN 44. The former UFC featherweight champion clearly dominated the five-round bout, and his hands were raised via decision. Kansas City witnessed a 25-minute bout where Holloway outdid Allen in every aspect. The bout indeed helped him come back stronger after he lost his belt to Alexander Volkanovski. Before fighting Allen, ‘Blessed’ faced the Australian fighter for a trilogy bout at UFC 276.

In all three bouts, it was ‘The Great’ who emerged victorious. Nonetheless, contrary to the majority’s expectation, Holloway claims that he received the hardest hits not from Volkanovski but from Andre Fili. Fili and Holloway came face to face at UFC 172, which was held on April 26, 2014. Three minutes and thirty-nine seconds into the third round, Holloway forced Fili to submit via guillotine choke. This paved the way for Holloway to emerge victorious. However, even after fighting the toughest Volkanovski, Holloway dismisses him when it comes to the hardest hit.

Max Holloway says who hit the hardest

Max Holloway was in the post-fight press conference for UFC on ESPN 44. When asked about who hits the hardest, Holloway said, “Andre Fili, He’s the only guy that ever got caught with and I looked at the time and I was like, ‘what the f*uck… what am I doing and I remember going to the cage and be like holy sh*t he literally hit me pretty hard so Andre Fili is like the hardest cracker I felt at 45 for sure.“

However, Holloway agrees to the fact that Volkanovski is a strong fighter, but when it comes to hard punches, the first name that comes to Holloway’s mind is that of Fili.

The three bouts between ‘Blessed’ and ‘The Great’

The first time Volkanovski and Holloway came face to face in the promotion was at UFC 245. After five rounds of back-and-forth fighting, Volkanovski won the bout via decision. After seven months, both fighters locked horns for a rematch, and this time, ‘Blessed’ lost the bout by a split decision. 

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The fight also proved that the two are great fighters and not those who easily submit. The trilogy bout between Volkanovski and Holloway took place at UFC 276. Once again, Holloway lost the fierce battle via unanimous decision. At the moment, Holloway is looking for more interesting fights against tough opponents, if not a title bout against Volkanovski.

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