The co main-event of UFC 251 is still being discussed due to the polarizing result from the judges. Fans believe Max Holloway had done enough to avenge his UFC 245 defeat. It could be seen even in the manner ‘The Great’ went for a big finish in the 25th minute.  However, the record books will always show that Alexander Volkanovski beat Max Holloway with no mention of the nitty-gritty of the contest. 

‘The Great’ is now 2-0 against ‘Blessed’ and will likely be looking for a new challenge. SportsCenter analyst Chael Sonnen echoed this whilst highlighting a problematic situation in the 145 lbs division due to Holloway not having the belt. 

Chael Sonnen says the Featherweight division has a problem

In conversation with Ariel Helwani, on ‘Ariel & The Bad Guy’, he said, “We get that you think it was a close fight, but what I’m suggesting for you is you do have a little bit of a bigger problem here. If Max won that fight, that means that the guy who’s the best guy in the division doesn’t have the belt. But it also means something more.”

The UFC usually moves onto trilogies between fighters who are all squared at one each. This is seen with the promotion not dismissing a Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz match as they have shared the spoils in their 2 outings to date.

Furthermore, the UFC 252 main event will see a trilogy between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic with the Heavyweight belt on the line. Hence a Volkanovski-Holloway trilogy may seem odd as the former has a 2-0 lead. 

Sonnen addresses the fact and says that ‘Blessed’ not being able to fight for the belt affects the other top contenders. This is because he is in top gear and would impede their progress as he fights his way back into contention. 

‘The American Gangster’ said, “It means the best guy now who does not have the belt also cannot fight for the belt. Which means the best guy is floating all around the division, it affects all the other contenders.” 

Here, he went on to liken the situation to one of his opponents in the current long-reigning UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones. The retired fighter gave an example of the pitfalls of putting a top fighter amongst the middle of the rankings. 

Sonnen likens the Max Holloway situation to Jon Jones

He said, “Just suppose that was somebody else. Imagine that was Jon Jones through one of his indiscretions as many people have suggested was stripped and thrown among the boys. That’s a very dangerous proposition.” 

“Jon Jones would send the number 1 contender to the hospital, you can’t put Jon Jones against the number 6 or 7. Just simply put, it’d be irresponsible.”

At this point, ‘The American Gangster’ channels out his chart for the future of the Featherweight division. Ideally, he implies that the Australian will defend his strap against the next ranked contenders. These will likely be 2nd ranked Zabit Magomedsharipov, 3rd ranked Brian Ortega or 4th ranked Chang Sung Jung a.k.a. ‘The Korean Zombie.’

Sonnen concludes, “If you’re telling me that Max should’ve won the fight and I believe that he did, he also can’t fight for it again because he already did it twice. There’s no scenario where he gets back to Volkanovski.”

“Volkanovski is gonna have to lose that strap for Max to get the opportunity. That is a big deal, it is a big deal that we make sure the right guy gets the opportunity and isn’t just floating around the division.”

Here it certainly looks as if the UFC has a big call. Will they let Holloway have another crack at the belt? Or will he float around the rankings?

Read: “We Got Some Bad Judging”- Dana White Not Happy With Alexander Volkanovski vs Max Holloway Result

In the post UFC 251 media interaction, Dana White did not dismiss the idea of a third fight. Nor did he say that it may happen. It implies that the company is thinking about it.

What do you make of Chael Sonnen’s comments?