Max Holloway sees the UFC 314 Main Event going in one of the two ways.
Not successful in his attempt to become two -time champion of featherweight against Ilia Topuria last year, Holloway looks up while the former enemy Alexander Volkanovski goes for gold against Diego Lopes.
Topuria issued the title in the months after he eliminated Holloway, Volkanovski and Lopes, now gather this Saturday for the empty title in Miami.
Title fights are nothing new for Volkanovski, this is his 10th consecutive. As far as Lopes is concerned, it is a new territory, UFC 314 marks his first five round fight in the Octagon since he joined the schedule less than two years ago.
So, who comes at the top? The gray former champion or the younger, hungry challenger?
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Max Holloway breaks Alexander Volkanovski versus Diego Lopes
Styles make fights and Volkanovski is known as more an experienced, high level technician, while Lopes is a super-aggressive Finisher with devastating KO power and very exhausted submission skills.
After having spent 15 rounds fighting against Volkanovski (and almost defeated him in the Rematch), the former champion Max Holloway takes a look in the next title fight with featherweight.
“There are only two ways in which I see this fight go,” said Holloway on his YouTube channel.
“When Alex is the winner, I think he goes to Vintage Alex, play-and-move, pop-shot and his legs.
“Maybe wrestling, some dirt boxing against the fence, he takes a decision, perhaps a unanimous decision.”
Holloway was simply surpassed in his trilogy fight with Volkanovski with the striking output of the champion much too big.
The fighting Hawaiian did a much better performance against Volkanovski in their rematch on UFC 251, so that he was almost beaten in rounds 1 and 2 before Volkanovski picked up the play in the championship rounds for a split decision victory.
“If Diego wins, it's within the first three rounds,” said Holloway about the opportunities of Lopes.
“I think Diego catches him,” Holloway said about how Lopes beats Volkanovski. 'Diego approaches you as a hundred miles per hour, Bro. He comes to you and he is like a crazy train that flies out of the tracks, Bro.
“He comes to you immediately and hits you. I think the most dangerous part for this fight is definitely the first two rounds for people, maybe three.”
Max Holloway supports Alexander Volkanovski to recover the title
1-3 In his last four fights with back-to-back KO losses for champions Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev and his chin doubtful, Holloway refuses to count his greatest rival Volkanovski in his long-awaited UFC referee as other former champions do.
“At the end of the day I think people are recovering,” Holloway said about his former enemy.
“But I see Diego capturing and catching people,” Holloway admitted.
“But it's MMA. We'll see what happens …”
Volkanovski is 17-1 in the featherweight division with his only loss in the weight class that comes to the harsh Ilia Topuria. Volkanovski can also crack, with TKO victories in Chad Mendes, the Korean zombie and Yair Rodriguez.