UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski believes that Max Holloway is lying about not training for his upcoming fight.

Volkanovski defeated Holloway to win the featherweight strap last year. “The Great” outlasted Holloway throughout the fight to earn a unanimous decision victory. Following Holloway’s loss, he was promised an instant rematch. The duo will finally collide this Saturday at the newly constructed UFC facility at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

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Max Holloway makes stunning claims

“Blessed” claimed that he has not sparred for the rematch. He stated that the lockdown laws have forced him to train via Zoom.

“I didn’t want to put none of my coaches in harm’s way or getting arrested. Stay-at-home order in Hawaii was pretty serious. So a lot of the way I was training was exactly like this, over Zoom (video),” Holloway told Ariel Helwani.

“There were Zoom classes, and you know, the first time seeing my coaches was at the airport in Vegas and then coming here.”

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Alexander Volkanovski is not buying it

It is hard for anyone to believe that Holloway has not trained fully for the fight. Volkanovski said that he could train by getting exemptions. But does not want to accuse the former champion of anything.

“To be quite honest, I don’t believe that. That’s all sh*t. Whether he’s doing it to cover things on his end — I don’t want to accuse him of anything — but we had to get exemptions to train, so I couldn’t train until I got that done.

“So there was a lot that needed to happen for the government. Again, I’m not going to accuse him of anything, but I don’t believe that he hasn’t been training. I’m preparing for a fully prepared Max either way,” Volkanovski told Ariel Helwani.

It is worth noting that the pandemic has hindered fighters from training to their fullest capacity. Because of strict regulations and the fear of transmission, fighters have been forced to train with limited training partners.

What do you think of Holloway’s claims? Is he trying to catch Volkanovski off guard? Or is he telling the truth?