Under den gångna helgens UFC 245 lyckades Alexander Volkanovski med bedriften att besegra Max Holloway via ett enhälligt domslut och därmed stå som UFC:s nya fjäderviktsmästare. Trots det enhälliga domslutet har Holloway påstått att han vann matchen och UFC:s VD, Dana White, har nämnt att han är öppen till en direkt returmatch mellan de två fjäderviktarna.
Returmatchen verkar nu lång ifrån omöjlig då även Volkanovski under presskonferensen efter mötet nämnde att han anser att Holloway förtjänar en rematch. Han anser dock att han tydligt bevisade att han var den bättre fightern redan i första mötet och att han kommer vara ännu bättre förberedd för alla hot från Holloways sida i ett andra möte.
I think he deserves it. Do I have to beat him to prove that I’m a better fighter? I think we had five rounds to do it, and I’m pretty sure I won it pretty clearly. But anyway, if people are still going to doubt, they’re still gonna. But again, I’ll be ready for it and he does deserve it. That would make for a big fight. Of course I’m down. I’ll be better prepared the next time. I know what we know works, we’re gonna get an even better formula. He might think he’ll get me figured out again, but I’m just too powerful. They go one way, I go another. That’s the thing. I’m so well-rounded I can just go anywhere with it. If he was really fixing me up on the feet and I had to grind it, look for takedowns, I could always go there. That’s the thing, I’ve got so many ways to go, even striking there’s so many ways to go. I proved that. Again, he’s good at his range – it was like, ‘How’s he gonna handle the range?’ It’s like, ‘That’s how.’
Volkanovski är dock inte helt säker på att en returmatch blir av då han spekulerar kring att Holloway kan komma att gå upp en viktklass. Skulle ett andra möte dock bli av så vill han att det blir av i hemlandet Australien.
There’s things that he does really well, but we’re aware of them. We’re ready. So if the rematch has to happen, again, he cuts a lot of weight, does he want to stay in this division? I don’t know. He probably wants to get that back, I don’t blame him. Again, I’ve got nothing but respect for the guy, but man, it’s my time. The ‘Blessed’ era ends tonight in the featherweight division. He’s a big boy, but if he wants to do it again we can do it Australia and sell some seats and tickets, pay-per-view.
Volkanovski är även tacksam för att Holloway valde att ge honom titelmatchen när han mycket väl kunde valt andra motståndare. Han avslutar med att han i nuläget vill ta en kort paus innan han planerar ännu en match.
I said I’ll be a great champion just like the other guys. I’ll fight whoever deserves it, and let’s be honest, Max is a great champion – he was a great champion, sorry. He was fighting all the guys. My shot was earned, not given, but he gave it to me. He could have been looking around, doing other stuff; he was happy. There was people saying that I was gonna give him problems, and he’s like, ‘Bring it on.’ Good on him. He’s a champion, I respect him for that, and I plan on doing the same. The people that are next in line, let’s do it. He does deserve a rematch, I reckon he does, but right now I’m gonna soak it up. I get an early Christmas present back to my family, I’ll go there, celebrate, have a holiday with them and later we’ll talk business.
Matchen mellan Holloway och Volkanovski ägde rum på UFC 245 som ägde rum den 15:e december i Las Vegas, USA.
