7 Ups And 1 Down From UFC 245

We have a new UFC featherweight champion and his name is Alexander Volkanovski. Although the 31-year old Australian was unbeaten in 17 fights going into his title bout, with seven of those happening inside the Octagon, trying to take the 145lb strap from a dominant champion like Max Holloway is easier said than done.

Volkanovski found that out the hard way during this incredibly competitive battle. However, it was clear that he was aware of what he needed to do to beat Holloway from the very moment the bell rung. Instead of allowing the now former champion to set the pace, Volkanovski was extremely aggressive throughout the early rounds, beating Holloway to the punch in the majority of the exchanges.

Sensing that he might be down in the scorecards, Holloway turned it on during the latter stages of the fight and arguably won the fourth and fifth rounds. However, after all the work Volkanovski did during the first, second and third stanzas, Holloway was too far down on the scorecards to really make a comeback.

Considering Holloway had already beaten the vast majority of featherweights currently competing in the division, the win for Volkanovski opens up the weight class to some new and exciting match-ups in 2020.