Max Holloway reveals Alexander Volkanovski ‘asked’ for rematch at UFC 251

The sting of losing the UFC featherweight championship didn’t really weigh Max Holloway down too much after falling to Alexander Volkanovski this past December.

While many called him the greatest 145-pound fighter of all time, Holloway never bought into the hype or accolades surrounding his title reign and instead he just focused on the next contender standing in line to face him.

He carried that same attitude out of his loss to Volkanovski as Holloway planned to face whoever the UFC put in front of him next but ultimately the promotion decided to do an immediate rematch now scheduled for July 11 on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi.

It turns out Holloway didn’t even need to request the fight because he says it was Volkanovski who requested another showdown with him as the Australian seeks to cement his championship status.

“I didn’t ask for the rematch,” Holloway revealed when speaking to MMA Fighting. “I didn’t need to. He asked for it.”

Automatic rematches for former champions can be tricky territory because a second consecutive loss means the chances of getting a third opportunity against the same fighter is virtually impossible.

In recent history only Stipe Miocic has found success in an immediate rematch after he avenged a prior defeat to Daniel Cormier with a fourth-round TKO to reclaim the heavyweight title this past August. Prior that, a number of former champions fell short in their bids to win back the gold.

Frankie Edgar beat B.J. Penn to become champion and then solidified his status as the best 155-pound fighter in the world with another win over the UFC Hall of Famer. Edgar then suffered the same fate after he lost his title to Benson Henderson and then came up short in a razor-close decision in the rematch.

As the longest reigning middleweight champion in company history, Anderson Silva definitely deserved another shot at Chris Weidman after falling to him in their first meeting. Sadly, the rematch ended in devastating fashion after Silva broke his leg in the second round during a striking exchange.