Alexander Volkanovski shares the strategy he used to beat Max Holloway. The two have met in the Octagon twice and both times it was Volkanovski who got the better of Holloway.
With a once in a lifetime performance at UFC Fight Island 7, Max Holloway is the favorite of every MMA enthusiast right now. Whether it was the boxing prowess or his parrying technique the blessed was the best on the very day and it is a general realization that not many can compete against the version of Max Holloway which was on showcase at UFC Fight Island 7.
However, what’s exemplary is that the current Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has locked horns with Max Holloway not once but twice and got the better of him on both occasions. So, what did he do differently to evade the punishment that Calvin Kattar received?
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How Alexander Volkanovski Got The Better Of Max Holloway On Two Occasions?
In an interview with Garange TV, Alexander Volkanovski reflected on his matches with Max Holloway and explained how what adjustments he made to get ahead of him on the points sheet.
“To be honest, obviously, looking for a takedown was always going to be there. But it wasn’t something I was going to chase,” Volkanovski explained. “There’s a whole standup game plan that we had to stick to. We knew he’s really good with his distance. And with that, we knew we’re going to pull up short up high.”
At UFC 245, Alexander Volkanovski had a big task in front of him to beat Max Holloway, who was the Featherweight champion at that time, and moreover, he was on a 14-0 undefeated run in the 145-pound weight class. So, with odds against him, the Australian backed his skills and at the same time analyzed and anticipated Holloway’s moves.
“When he really pours the pressure on, he’s in your face so it seems like he’s there. But early on, especially when he sees the dangers and he’s really good at distance, touching and getting out of the way, avoiding punches, and then giving you some countering.
“So we had ways of getting in. And if that pulled short, it was going to be other options there that we needed to stick to. Obviously, the legs. He might pull his head out of the way. So we knew that, so we went to go up high, and then we’re pulling up short like we expected.”
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Full-Fledged Attack On Leg
To gain an upper hand, Identifying a chink in the armor was important and in this case, Alexander Volkanovski gauged that targeting Holloway’s lower side can reap the ideal fruits.
“When he’s coming forward, he’s heavy on that leg when he wants to pour it on. … The punches come up, we’ll pull them up a bit short. Alright, that’s not there? The legs are. Alright, let’s start smashing the legs. And not only that, that was always going to be the game plan because he likes to come forward and put the pressure on. As he’s trying to jab, I’ll just stick one into his leg, let him realize he’s not going to get his rhythm. So the leg kicks were a big part of that.”
“I’ll kick his legs and then he would try and fire right away. So as soon as I would kick, he was trying to stick a jab in my face when he realized he couldn’t get out of the way. Then I would let him run straight into a punch or kick, as he was trying to throw a jab, I’ll come with overhand rights and hooks.
“Then he started reading that after my kicks, I started firing so he started running into punches. So he went there, pretended he’d come in, make me fire and then go. Then I would change it up again because I realized he was baiting me after the kick. These are little things that you wouldn’t see. A lot of people think the game plan is kicking his legs and think that was it. But it goes so much deeper than that.”
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