UFC president Dana White believes Max Holloway is deserving of a second rematch with Alexander Volkanovski.
Holloway challenged Volkanovski for the featherweight title in their rematch at UFC 251 earlier this month. Like the first meeting, the sequel went the full 25 minutes with many observers believing Holloway had done more than enough to regain his title.
However, two judges saw it differently as Volkanovski ended up earning the split decision verdict to defend his strap for the first time.
Volkanovski vs. Holloway Trilogy?
White, himself, believed it was a case of bad judging following the event as he refused to rule out a trilogy despite Holloway being 0-2 against Volkanovski.
And he reiterated those feelings in a recent interview with ESPN.
“It’s hard to not say we can give Max a rematch for that fight again – do it a third time,” White said (via MMA Fighting). “I think a lot of the fans and the media would agree with that. I don’t know for sure.”
Of course, Volkanovski may have some say in the matter as he would undoubtedly like to move on and face new contenders. “The Great” is already looking ahead as he believes either the Korean Zombie or Zabit Magomedsharipov will be next.
And White wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t want an immediate trilogy.
“I’m sure Volkanovski doesn’t love that idea,” White said. “He’s like, ‘Listen, I just beat this guy twice.’ And if you’re Volkanovski, you’re like guess what — the media aren’t judges. Dana White’s not a judge. None of these people are judges. The people that are assigned to judge the fight said I won twice.
“If you’re Volkanovski, I get it. If you’re Volkanovski, you probably want to take a look at a different guy. I haven’t really talked to Volkanovski about it. Something I definitely need to do, and we’ll see how this thing plays out.”
Who do you think should challenge Volkanovski for the featherweight title next?