Alexander Volkanovski is the new UFC featherweight champion.
The Australian fighter dethroned Max Holloway in a five-round battle in the co-main event of UFC 245 on Saturday night. Volkanovski (21-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) outpointed Holloway (21-5 MMA, 17-5 UFC) with a score of 48-47, 48-47, 50-45 on the judges’ cards at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
It was a clinical performance by Volkanovski. The former rugby player used leg kicks to limit Holloway’s mobility and shut down his offense, on top of other techniques.
Volkanovski had great success in the first three rounds, keeping Holloway from implementing his game plan while mauling the Hawaiian’s lead leg with kicks.
In the fourth round, Holloway began to adjust to Volkanovski’s attacks and began to connect more with his strikes. Although Holloway had his moments, he still felt short. Holloway failed to do enough to win rounds in the judges scorecards. It was Volkanovski’s leg kicks and timing that what made the difference in the fight.
Volkanovski remains unbeaten in his UFC career. The 31-year-old hasn’t lost since joining the promotion in 2016 and has won 18 in a row.
On the other hand, Holloway snapped a 13-fight wins streak at featherweight. Holloway, 28, won the title in 2017 by defeating Jose Aldo at UFC 217. He defended the belt three times, defeating Frankie Edgar, Brian Ortega and Aldo in a rematch.
The featherweight title bout was the UFC 245 co-main event. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 245 results include:
- Alexander Volkanovski def. Max Holloway via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 50-45)
- Amanda Nunes def. Germaine de Randamie via unanimous decision (49-44, 49-46, 49-45)
- Marlon Moraes def. Jose Aldo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Petr Yan def. Urijah Faber via knockout (head kick) – Round 3, 0:43
- Geoff Neal vs. Mike Perry via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:30
- Irene Aldana def. Ketlen Vieira via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 4:51
- Omari Akhmedov def. Ian Heinisch via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Matt Brown def. Ben Saunders via knockout (strikes) – Round 2, 4:55
- Chase Hooper def. Daniel Teymur via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:34
- Brandon Moreno def. Kai Kara-France via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Jessica Eye def. Viviane Araujo via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Punahele Soriano def. Oskar Piechota via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 3:17
