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Whats Next for Max Holloway in the Featherweight Division? Will He Fight Alexander Volkanovski Again?

Published 08/27/2023, 6:24 AM EDT

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Most fans would agree that the recently concluded UFC Singapore was nothing short of a barnburner. Despite a superb finish from Junior Tafa and an insanely close Anthony Smith vs Ryan Spann bout, the main event of the night probably topped them all in terms of excitement. The famed former UFC Featherweight champ, Max Holloway, handled the rush of the ‘The Korean Zombie’, Chan Sung Jung, all too well. ‘Blessed’ put him to sleep in the third round of the bout.

What followed was one of the most beautiful moments in the entire history of the sport. Along with a show of tremendous respect between the two main event fighters, ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung, also declared his retirement from his twelve-year-long UFC career in front of the incredible Singapore crowd. Hence, a large chunk of his fans might be down with a heavy heart right now. But Holloway’s superb win has also left several followers with a question about his next opponent.

Max Holloway didn’t call out anyone in his post-fight interview

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A number of fans might have distinctly noticed Holloway’s never-seen-before walkout in red shorts with the Hawaiian flag at UFC Singapore. Recently, a series of wildfires devastated ‘Blessed’s’ home state of Hawaii. Further, it was Holloway’s home island of Maui that took the most damage due to this natural calamity. Hence, the 31-year-old tried to turn the world’s attention to his devastated homeland for help with such a gesture.

Holloway started off his post-fight interview, asking the Singapore crowd to cheer for ‘The Korean Zombie’ at the top of their voices. He also mentioned the Lahaina area of Maui Island in his speech due to the severe damage it had taken from the wildfires. But Holloway’s interview ended without an answer to the million-dollar question about his next opponent.

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Due to this win, the Hawaiian will maintain his #1 spot in the UFC Featherweight division. Hence, if the UFC authorities decide to go as per the ritual, it’s quite apparent that ‘Blessed’ will lock horns with the current UFC Featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski yet again.

But fans have already witnessed these two battling each other three times. Further, the results of those have also been similar every time with ‘Blessed’ losing all three. This might leave a large chunk of fans uninterested in a fourth bout between the two, feeling that they have already watched enough.

Can Alexander Volkanovski’s challenger be Max Holloway’s next opponent?

‘Volk’ accepting the famed Featherweight Ilia Topuria’s callout after his UFC 290 victory might have prompted the UFC authorities to fix the next Featherweight title fight between them. But, with the #1 contender, Holloway, achieving another win in the meantime, the entire situation has become a bit complicated.

Currently, several fans might bear the opinion that the UFC will sort this situation out in their usual way. We have witnessed how the promotion fixed a title eliminator bout between the famed Middleweights Robert Whittaker and Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 290 for the next UFC Middleweight title shot. A lot of fans might predict a similar title eliminator between Holloway and Topuria next.

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The 31-year-old Hawaiian has also lost his Featherweight crown in one of his three losses against ‘The Great’. Hence, ‘Blessed’ fighting Topuria may be viewed as a justified fixture.

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On the other hand, ‘El Matador’ Topuria currently holds the #5 rank in the Featherweight division. But his undefeated UFC record will probably have a large chunk of fans saying that he needs to fight higher-ranked opponents. In such a situation, there’s hardly anyone better than the #1 ranked Holloway, whom Topuria can fight to display his deservingness for a title shot.

Are you visualizing a similar the same situation in the UFC Featherweight division next? Or do you think Holloway’s next bout will be against someone else?

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Written by:

Souvik Roy

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Souvik Roy is an exceptional UFC writer with an impressive portfolio of over 500 articles at EssentiallySports. The young writer did not allow speech impairment to come in the way of his love for writing and covering fights. As a keen observer, Souvik's passion for MMA was sparked when he discovered the UFC after being introduced to WWE.
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Edited by:

Rupkamal Sarma