There’s a combat sports adage that says you’re not really a champion until you make your first title defense.
In that case, [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] is now truly UFC featherweight champion.
The Australian was put under heavy pressure against the competitor from whom he took the title this past December, [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]. And while the decision was highly debatable, Volkanovski (22-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) rallied over the final three rounds to eke out a split decision Saturday night at UFC 251, getting the better end of two of three 48-47 scores to retain his title.
“He’s tough – he’s a gamer,” Volkanovski said of his foe. “We had 10 rounds in there give credit to him, but this is the fight game.”
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Holloway looked loose and confident over the fight’s opening two rounds. He used the trademark kickboxing mix that brought him to the top of the sport, and never allowed Volkanovski to get his offense untracked.
While Holloway was a clear-cut winner over the fight’s first 10 minutes, Volkanovski noticeably closed the gap in the third, and each of the fight’s final three rounds were close. Volkanovski threw leg kicks throughout the fight, and they began slowing Holloway down by the fight’s halfway mark.
Holloway still remained the more active fighter, but Volkanovski’s punches were hammers, the results of which Holloway wore on his face. Volkanovski upped his wrestling game over the final 15 minutes, with 50-50 results on his takedowns. But he landed his last one in the closing seconds, and that may have been what sealed the deal in a fight that could have gone either way.
The champ has now won 19 consecutive fights, while Holloway has dropped three of his past four.
The featherweight title bout was the UFC 251 co-main event at Flash Forum at Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN/ESPN+ and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 251 results include:
- Alexander Volkanovski def. Max Holloway via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47)
- Petr Yan def. Jose Aldo via TKO (strikes) – Round 5, 3:24 – to win vacant bantamweight title
- Rose Namajunas def. Jessica Andrade via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Amanda Ribas def. Paige VanZant via submission (armbar) – Round 1, 2:21
- Jiri Prochazka def. Volkan Oezdemir via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 0:49
- Muslim Salikhov def. Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
- Makwan Amirkhani def. Danny Henry via technical submission (anaconda choke) – Round 1, 3:15
- Leonardo Santos def. Roman Bogatov via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-26)
- Marcin Tybura def. Maxim Grishin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Raulian Paiva def. Zhalgas Zhumagulov via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Karol Rosa def. Vanessa Melo via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
- Davey Grant def. Martin Day via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 2:38
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