Alexander Volkanovski beats Max Holloway by unanimous decision to retain featherweight title at UFC 276

LAS VEGAS — Safe to say, Alexander Volkanovski has buried his rivalry with Max Holloway for good this time.

Volkanovski (25-1) defended his featherweight championship for the fourth time Saturday night, defeating Holloway (23-7) via unanimous decision in their highly anticipated trilogy bout. All three judges scored the 145-pound title fight, which co-headlined UFC 276 inside T-Mobile Arena, a clean 50-45 sweep for the defending champ.

Saturday's five-round contest was, by far, the most definitive result of the trilogy. The two first met at UFC 245 in December 2019, and again at UFC 251 in July 2020. Volkanovski won both by decision, but the fights were extremely close — particularly the rematch. Immediately after the rematch, some in the sport still considered Holloway the true featherweight champion, but that sentiment is long, long gone after UFC 276.

«Look, Max Holloway is an absolute beast,» Volkanovski said. «That intensity he brought, that we both had the last few days, I needed it. I really needed it. I had to get him out of here. I knew I'm the best. I needed to remind myself.»

The fight played out entirely on the feet, with neither featherweight even attempting a takedown until the final round. Holloway, of Waianae, Hawaii, moved forward throughout the bout, but struggled to land any consistent offense on the defensively sound Volkanovski. Volkanovski, meanwhile, punished Holloway throughout. He opened a deep cut on Holloway's left eyebrow in the second round, and damaged his nose with shots in the fourth.

According to UFC Stats, Volkanovski outlanded Holloway in total strikes 204 to 161 — and the difference felt more pronounced than that for those watching the fight. Volkanovski's defense was simply superb,