Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway says he's moved on from a controversial decision loss to Alexander Volkanovski in July -- but he has not moved on from Volkanovski himself.
Holloway (21-6) lost his 145-pound championship to Volkanovski (20-1) in a five-round decision at UFC 245 in 2019, and was granted an immediate rematch at UFC 251 in July in Abu Dhabi. The rematch went down to the final round, as one judge scored it 48-47 for Holloway, while the other two scored it 48-47 for Volkanovski.
UFC president Dana White has expressed interest in booking a third fight between the two. Volkanovski, of Australia, has said he's not opposed to fighting Holloway again but has turned his immediate focus to other contenders. Speaking for the first time since the loss, Holloway refused to say he was robbed by judges in the rematch, but said he definitely wants to fight Volkanovski again.
"If it was Kobe [Bryant] and Michael [Jordan], they would play 10 times, just to let people know who the best is," Holloway told ESPN. "That's the mentality I strive for. If you want to run it back 100 times, we can do it. I'm gonna show you I'm the better guy. I don't know what kind of mentality [Volkanovski] has, but I know what I want to do and what kind of legacy I want to leave.
"This guy is sitting at a place that's not right with me. I don't feel like it's right. Are we gonna fight again? It's up to him. If I had it my way, I'll fight you 10 times in one night, 10 times once a month. I'm a competitor. I need to compete. I truly believe I was put on this earth to fight and compete."
Holloway said he doesn't care about re-gaining the belt -- a stance he took when he actually held the belt from 2017 to 2019. The competition itself is far more valuable to him than a UFC title. He did say, however, he took solace in the fact that so many high-profile observers within the sport felt he won the rematch.
"They were sticking their necks out for me," Holloway told ESPN. "And these aren't fans, they're fighters. Jorge [Masvidal], Nate [Diaz], Dustin [Poirier], Justin [Gaethje], the list goes on. [MMA managers Ali Abdelaziz and Malki and Abe Kawa.] All these guys cannot agree on what color the sky is, but they agreed on one thing that night."
Holloway, 29, is currently booked to face Calvin Kattar at UFC Fight Night on Jan. 16, in what will mark the first UFC event of 2021. Volkanovski is expected to defend his title against Brian Ortega in early 2021.
Once that title bout is official, Holloway has history with both of the men involved: the two decision losses to Volkanovski, and he also holds a dominant fourth-round TKO over Ortega in 2018.