UFC 251 Alex Volkanovski vs Max Holloway: scorecard from controversial title fight
Australia’s UFC champion Alex Volkanovski has strengthened his claim as the greatest featherweight in history following a second win over Max Holloway - but should his hand have been raised? SEE THE SCORECARD
UFC
Don't miss out on the headlines from UFC. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A courageous Alexander Volkanovski has laughed off social media taunts of “theft” after twice being dropped and still coming back to win his blockbuster UFC 251 title bout against Hawaiian great Max Holloway.
In a performance that confirmed Volkanovski as the new face of the Australian fight game, the 31-year-old scored a gutsy, if contentious, split decision win in his first ever title defence in Abu Dhabi.
Six months after dethroning Holloway in one of the greatest Aussie sporting upsets of 2019, the Wollongong slugger produced an incredible comeback in the rematch on Fight Island.
Watch UFC action with ESPN on KAYO. Stream full Fight Night events live plus prelim fights for PPV events. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
Despite going into the championship as a -220 favourite, Volkanovski found himself in real trouble early after being dropped twice in the opening two rounds – first, by a head kick and then a Holloway uppercut.
Still, the Aussie rallied in the third, the closest round of the fight, before proving stronger in the fourth and fifth, where he not only landed more significantly but also scored a couple of crucial takedowns.
While one judge gave the bout to Holloway 48-47, two more gave it to the Aussie slugger by the same scoreline.
Afterwards, several UFC fighters claimed on Twitter that Holloway had been the true winner — with former bantamweight champ Henry Cejudo even calling Volkanovski a “thief” — despite the scorecard later revealing all three judges had given Volkanovski the third.
So as for the champ being in any doubt?
You over grown midget! You stole that one. I’ll make sure to stop you you thief. #ufc251
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) July 12, 2020
That makes 0 sense @BlessedMMA won that fight #UFC251
— Justin Gaethje 🇺🇸 (@Justin_Gaethje) July 12, 2020
Super close fight. Volkanovski made great adjustments later on after the slow start. Want to watch that again. Definitely not a robbery.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 12, 2020
The problem with Volk getting the nod is that he never came close to winning a round in the way Holloway won two of them. That's a hard thing for people to overlook.
— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) July 12, 2020
A little bit like GSP-Hendricks. "Who won the 25 minutes?" and "Who won each of the 5 rounds?" lead to different outcomes.
— Phil Murphy (@Phil_Sports) July 12, 2020
Perfect fight to show how broken the scoring system is.
— Benson (@TheBennyFresh) July 12, 2020
What's a better option? I don't know. But this ain't it.
“My corner was saying it was close, and that it would be up to the third round,” Volkanovski said afterwards. “But I was confident I did enough in that third round and the judges did too.
“Then I think everyone could see I got the last two.
“(Early on) I was too relaxed, it was hard to pull the trigger.
“It took me until the third round to get moving.
MORE SPORT NEWS
Saint, Sinner, Shoosh: Dogs’ No.1 Pay replacement
Clash of the titans: which era wins Wimbledon
“I don’t know why. Maybe no crowd? “But to come back like I did from being down, to wake myself up — I told myself ‘c’mon you got a belt, you have to take this back to your family’.
“That shows heart and determination. I showed what a champion is made of.”
Despite the closeness of the fight, Volkanovski said he would now be moving on from Holloway, regarded as the greatest featherweight ever, after taking his undefeated run to 19 fights, including all nine in the UFC.
“To beat Max back-to-back like that, I believe I’ve finished that chapter,” he said. “First time it was five rounds to nothing. Clear cut.
“So I don’t know where he goes, whether he needs to move up, but I’ve got my eye on the contenders, whoever is next.”
Volkanovski also revealed he was not interested in a super fight with Cejudo, who is currently retired, saying he would prefer to go on a run against the division’s top contenders.
Given the Aussie has now beaten the two men considered the greatest featherweights of all time — including a 2019 win over Brazilian Jose Aldo — his new goal, he said, is to earn the crown for himself.
“I want that GOAT status,” Volkanovski said. “I’m going to keep defending this belt, show everyone I’m the best and everyone is going to be screaming my name as the GOAT”.
In a bizarre twist to already controversial fight, Volkanovski also revealed he had been woken on fight eve at 10pm, three hours after going to bed, by USADA drug testers.
The move was bizarre given, to hit US prime time, the Abu Dhabi card started in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“I wanted to sleep because I had to get up at 3am,” Volkanovski said. “But at 10 o’clock the night before they decided to wake me up for a USADA test.
“I don’t know what the go was, but I thought it was pretty rude.”
In an incredibly close title fight, all three judges gave Holloway the first and second rounds, then Volkanovski the third – the closest round of the fight — and fourth. Two of three also scored it for ‘The Great’ in the final round.
Volkanovski added that he would “definitely” like to fight again before the end of 2020.
Originally published as UFC 251 Alex Volkanovski vs Max Holloway: scorecard from controversial title fight