Alexander Volkanovski had a hard time picking between Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway, but he eventually settled on a winner.
Holloway (25-7 MMA, 21-7 UFC) will be a slight underdog when he challenges BMF champion Gaethje (25-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in a lightweight bout Saturday at UFC 300 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Volkanovski initially picked Gaethje, but he’s seen a change in fellow former featherweight champ Holloway’s approach after competing against him three times.
“The way some people were talking, I thought maybe they were going to have – you can’t have bad odds on Max Holloway,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “A lot of people are sitting there like, ‘Justin Gaethje, rah, rah, rah.’ Did we forget Max Holloway’s chin? Have we seen him in his last fights? The guy knows how to mix it up. He used to be more hittable back in the day.
“He was always very, very high level, really good at setting up traps but willing to be in front of you and eat some while he’s doing so. Now he’s got a lot more angles. He uses so many more tools. Man, this is going to be an exciting fight. I just don’t think people are expecting Max to come forward and do how he used to be, and Gaethje to just throw some massive bombs. Like them big leg kicks being there. You’re probably going to see muay Thai Max again.”
Volkanovski doesn’t understand why Holloway is being counted out. The former featherweight champion has never been knocked out – even when he went five rounds with Dustin Poirier in their interim lightweight title fight at UFC 236.
“Max is the underdog here, and I think a lot of people are counting him out, and I don’t know why,” Volkanovski said. “I think it’s purely because he’s moving up against a powerful dude like Justin Gaethje, which is fair enough. We can’t forget Max Holloway’s chin. I think it’s just an undefeated chin. It really is (laughs). I’ve tried cracking it. Many people have tried cracking it, and thinking is Justin Gaethje going to be the guy to finish it, I don’t know. It’s hard for me. I’ve said that a few times, and it just doesn’t happen. We’ve seen him be cracked. A couple of Max Holloway’s last fights, he didn’t get hit as much, but he still got cracked with some big shots, ate them like a champ.
“Gaethje’s been five rounds, and we’ve seen him do well in the later rounds. He can go five rounds, but the pace that Max Holloway’s still going to bring, because he’s still going to be there to be hit. Max Holloway will still be there to be hit or to make it a fight. We know Gaethje likes to throw bombs. Can he zap a bit of the life out of Gaethje? I think so. You know Max ain’t going to tire. Five rounder. Look, man, I have to lean towards Gaethje, but man, I thought the odds were going to be worse. The way people are talking, acting like Max doesn’t stand a chance, you’re wrong. He has a massive chance in this.”
Volkanovski decided to settle on Holloway for his final prediction.
“I’m going to say, for my pick, will be Max Holloway,” Volkanovski concluded.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
