Preview: UFC 276 ‘Adesanya vs. Cannonier’

UFC Featherweight Championship

C | Alexander Volkanovski (24-1, 11-0 UFC) vs. #1 FW | Max Holloway (23-6, 19-6 UFC)

ODDS: Volkanovski (-195), Holloway (+165)

Two of the best fighters going in the sport run it back for a trilogy fight, and it should be a pleasure to watch. Holloway came to the UFC as a raw 20-year-old back in 2012, and after an understandably rough start to his UFC career, the Hawaiian’s ascent to featherweight glory soon appeared inevitable. Starting in 2014, Holloway kicked off an undefeated run where he kept a busy schedule and looked increasingly impressive each time out. By the end of 2015, it seemed like the UFC’s task was just simply keeping Holloway busy against fresh opponents while the title picture, then centered around the whims of Conor McGregor, sorted itself out. Eventually, Holloway overwhelmed Jose Aldo twice in 2017—first to win the title and then in an immediate rematch—and, while still in his mid-20s, was seemingly set up to be one of the faces of the sport for years to come. All told, Holloway’s reign itself did not amount to much outside of a dominant showing over Brian Ortega. There was a brief move up to 155 pounds that saw him lose to Dustin Poirier before handily beating Frankie Edgar. He then had his title reign upended by Volkanovski. The two fights were each razor-thin—the first saw Holloway adapt after an early Volkanovski lead, while the Aussie took over the second fight as time went on—but with “Alexander The Great” winning both, Holloway was at least temporarily locked out of the title picture. The Hawaiian certainly forced the issue in 2021, particularly with an absolute thrashing of Calvin Kattar to kick off the year. Kattar met Holloway head-on in a boxing match. The result? An absolute outclassing that saw Holloway even take his eyes off Kattar and talk to the announcers while winning striking exchanges. After a subsequent impressive win over Yair Rodriguez that saw Holloway overcome some early trouble and pivot to some impressive wrestling, he looks like as complete a fighter as ever heading into his latest shot to regain featherweight gold from his former challenger.

Australia’s Volkanovski came to the UFC with some hype in 2016 as the next great prospect out of the region, and it was understandable to be skeptical at first, as the UFC’s history is littered with wrestling-first talents who struggled to make their style translate from the Australian scene to the major leagues. Within a few fights, it became clear that “Alexander The Great” was as good as advertised and then some. After a 2018 campaign that included wins over Jeremy Kennedy, Darren Elkins and Chad Mendes, Volkanovski was established as a potential contender. Volkanovski’s 2019 win over Aldo marked him as something special, as he fought entirely against type. Despite his short frame and previously bruising style, Volkanovski adopted a feint-heavy striking approach that neutralized Aldo and gave the Aussie a decision win over one of the greatest fighters of all-time. Then came the Holloway fights, and Volkanovski has spent the ensuing two years appearing to be on a different level from anyone else in the sport. His win over Ortega was almost completely dominant, with his one slip-up only adding to his legend. Ortega managed to catch a guillotine choke in the third round that seemed a sure bet to end the fight, only for Volkanovski to escape from the most precarious moment in his career. Meanwhile, Chan Sung Jung was outclassed essentially from the jump, as Volkanovski put on a complete performance in April; he remained untouched enough to turn around in relatively short order here. Given that he has won both of their fights to date and has only looked more untouchable since, Volkanovski deserves all of the benefit of the doubt in this trilogy fight. With that said, this is obviously a close fight that Holloway is more than capable of taking. The most intriguing development from a Holloway standpoint is that he has somehow managed to find an even higher gear in terms of volume since the two Volkanovski fights. The pace he kept over five rounds seems absolutely impossible, and even with banking some wrestling control time against Rodriguez, Holloway still put up some of the highest counting stats of his career. If Holloway simply steels himself to stick to that commitment to volume, that alone might be enough to tip the scales from those first two fights, which were essentially too close to call. However, Volkanovski would also surely find a way to keep up, and despite Holloway’s performance against Rodriguez, the champion does have the wrestling in his back pocket to at least change things up and potentially slow down the Hawaiian. Honestly, these two will probably find adjustments throughout the fight that will only serve to carry the sport forward and set the stage for a fourth bout somewhere down the line, so flip a coin. The pick is Volkanovski via decision.

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Adesanya vs. Cannonier
Volkanovski vs. Holloway
Strickland vs. Pereira
Lawler vs. Barberena
O’Malley vs. Munhoz
The Prelims