Alexander Volkanovski

Follow the UFC 276 live blog for the featherweight title fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway on Saturday in Las Vegas.

- UFC 276 Event T-Shirt Now, after Volkanovski and Holloway each picked up a pair of wins, the two top featherweights in the world are set to square off one final time, for all the marbles. Seven months later, the two men rematched at UFC 251, with Volkanovski taking a much more controversial split decision, one that even UFC President Dana White believed Holloway won.

Volkanovski made it a clean sweep over the former champion in the co-main event from Las Vegas.

Holloway began to fight more desperate in Round 4 and traded strikes on largely even terms as the action slowed. Volkanovski began to openly taunt Holloway in the opening round and briefly buckled him with a big right cross. But he turned in a largely lifeless performance as Volkanovski's speed and accuracy began to piece the Hawaiian fan favorite up from the start.

Alexander Volkanovski once again proved to be too much for Max Holloway, defending his title against the Hawaiian via unanimous decision at UFC 276 from ...

Volkanovski has certainly earned the right to test himself in a new division. The way he dismantled Holloway to make his career record against Blessed 3-0 is the kind of thing that will be used in Greatest of All-Time debates for years to come. While the commentary seems to revolve around the speed of Volk, I’m more impressed by the traps that Alexander is setting up with his jab.

In the co-main event of UFC 276, we saw the third installment of a title fight between two of the best of all time. Champion Alexander Volk...

Low kick from Volkanovski but Holloway lands a nice jumping knee. Low kick from Volkanovski and Holloway’s leg buckled. Nice hook to the body from the champion. Volkanovski evades an attack from Holloway and his defense is on point. Big elbow in the clinch from Volkanovski and he pushes Holloway back. Holloway comes in but eats a couple of clean shots from Volkanovski. Low kick from Volkanovski and he looks for two lefts. They clinch and Volkanovski pushes Holloway against the fence. Low kick from Holloway. Holloway looks for another jab to the body and Volkanovski just misses a huge uppercut counter. Check left lands for Volkanovski and Holloway answers with combination. He’s the one taking the center to start the second and he lands a low kick. The round comes to a close and it’s 1-0 Volkanovski at UFC 276. Jab from Volkanovski and he throws another nice right behind it.

Billy Ward breaks down Saturday's matchup between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway at UFC 276 (T-Mobile Arena).

I see some appeal to the over 3.5, 4.5 or Volkanovski by decision plays, as well. He took rounds 1 and 2 by a fairly wide margin, with Volkanovski eking out the last three. Volkanovski was officially credited as 3/9 on takedowns in their last fight, with all of the attempts coming in Round 3 or later. The odds feel a bit off here, with a razor-thin split decision for Volkanovski last time. Volkanovski very clearly lost the first two rounds last time, so mixing in some grappling was a wise adjustment. His leg kicks, grappling and cardio are all ideal to take over fights late. While he’s the older fighter, he turned pro four years after Holloway and has slightly fewer fights. When paired with Volkanovski’s moneyline at DraftKings, the odds are -125. I’m still finding it hard to pull the trigger on former champ Holloway, though. That’s where featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will once again meet former titleholder Max Holloway. However, after Holloway rebounded with wins over Calvin Kattar and Yair Rodriguez to reclaim top-contender status, he has earned a third crack at Volkanovski’s belt. 12/4/91

Alexander Volkanovski put on a clinic in his unanimous decision victory over Max Holloway at UFC 276.

With the win, Volkanovski added to his lengthy streak. Holloway kept moving forward, looking to get offense going, but Volkanovski’s defense was too much for the Hawaiian. Volkanovski picked his shots and battered Holloway over the next 15 minutes. In the final seconds, Holloway connected with a couple of good right hands, but it was clear Volkanovski had done the more significant work.

Alexander Volkanovski put three exclamation points — one for each victory — at the end of his championship trilogy with Max Holloway on Saturday at UFC 276.

“I just proved to you that I want to be in this octagon as much as possible,” Volkanovski said. “My first fight with Max, I broke pretty much the exact same [spot] on the right hand,” Volkanovski said. Current 135-pound champ from Long Island Aljamain Sterling tweeted that he believes he would “take Volkanovski down pretty easily and submit him.” The fact that Volkanovski told reporters later he believed he broke that hand in the second frame makes the weapon’s effectiveness all the more remarkable. Not a soul on the Las Vegas Strip could make such a case in the third, and surely final, Volkanovski victory. “They’re a lot bigger wins than the average defense.”