Alexander Volkanovski (left) and Max Holloway (right) exchange punches at UFC 251.
Alex Volkanovski rips Max Holloway for wanting to be the backup fighter at UFC 273: ‘He was never injured’
Alex Volkanovski has blasted Max Holloway for wanting to be the backup fighter at UFC 273.
Volkanovski and Holloway were set to do their trilogy fight but the Hawaiian was forced out of the bout with an injury. It was expected that he would be out for quite some time but just recently, he was cleared and now offered to be the backup fighter for the UFC 273 featherweight title fight between Volkanovski and Holloway.
According to Volkanovski, he says something doesn’t add up here, and doesn’t think Holloway was actually injured.
@BlessedMMA wants to be the backup fighter for the fight he was originally scheduled to fight.🤦🏻♂️ so in other words…he was never injured. Just hoping he doesn’t have to fight me or fight me while I’m preparing for someone…but hey “if you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying”😆…NO
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) February 9, 2022
“BlessedMMA wants to be the backup fighter for the fight he was originally scheduled to fight. so in other words…he was never injured. Just hoping he doesn’t have to fight me or fight me while I’m preparing for someone…but hey “if you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying”… NO,” Volkanovski wrote on social media.
A fan then responded to Volkanovski saying he isn’t scaring Holloway which he had a quick reply to.
Ok…A bald Aussie who has already beat him twice?? 😏
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) February 9, 2022
“Ok… A blade Aussie who has already beat him twice,” Volkanovski added.
As mentioned, with Holloway pulling out due to an injury, Volkanovski will now fight Korean Zombie on April 9 in Jacksonville. He’s looking to defend his belt for the third time after defeating Holloway and Brian Ortega in his first two title defenses.
Alex Volkanovski (23-1) is coming off a Fight of the Year candidate in a decision win over Brian Ortega at UFC 266 to defend his belt. Prior to that, he had the back-to-back wins over Holloway to win and then defend his strap, although the second fight was controversial. He also holds notable wins over Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes, and Darren Elkins among others.
Korean Zombie (17-6) is currently ranked fourth at featherweight and returned to the win column last time out with a decision win over Dan Ige. In the fight before, he lost a decision to Brian Ortega which snapped his two-fight winning streak, and had he won, he likely would’ve gotten a title shot. He has fought for UFC gold once before where he lost to Aldo in a fight he dislocated his shoulder in. In his career, Jung holds notable wins over Dustin Poirier, Frankie Edgar, and Dennis Bermudez among others.
