Max Holloway tells Alexander Volkanovski ‘you’re No. 1 pound-for-pound now’

Not only is he giving credit where it’s due, but Max Holloway has a sense of humor regarding his loss to Alexander Volkanovski in their trilogy bout at UFC 276.

Volkanovski improved to 3-0 against Holloway with a clear-cut unanimous decision triumph in Saturday’s co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Hawaiian known as “Blessed” released a brief statement following that defeat on social media.

“I’m still up 2-0 on knockdowns for trilogy. Probably gonna need a [fourth] to settle this,” Holloway quipped. “Just playing. Congrats to my brother [Alexander Volkanovski]. Got get that [lightweight] strap. You earned the shot. You’re [No. 1 pound-for-pound] now.

“To all the fans do not cry for me Argentina,” he added. “This is part of life. We need to rebuild and we will. I love you!”

Regarded by many as one of the greatest featherweights of all-time, Holloway earned a third shot against Volkanovski with consecutive five-round victories over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez. While the first two meetings were competitive, Volkanovski was dominant in sweeping the scorecards in their trilogy. After the victory, Volkanovski reiterated his desire to potentially move up to 155 pounds in hopes of becoming a two-division champion.