UFC star Max Holloway was pumped up at the UFC 276 pre-fight press conference as his war of words with Alexander Volkanovski continues.

Throughout the course of his time with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Max Holloway has always come across as one of the most composed fighters on the roster. The man known as ‘Blessed’ has enjoyed tremendous success in mixed martial arts and whether he wins or loses, the fans always get behind the Hawaiian sensation.

This weekend at UFC 276, he’s set for a real crossroads moment in his career as he prepares to go to war with Alexander Volkanovski for the third time in their highly-anticipated trilogy bout.

The showdown will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and while both men are usually pretty calm, Volkanovski seemed to bring something out of Holloway during last night’s press conference.

In the following exchange, Holloway turned to his fanbase and audibly shouted in the direction of the champion.

Volkanovski: “That’s why he can’t spar anymore, because he gets punched in the head too much.”

Holloway: “I can’t hear you. Let him have it ninth island, let him have it. I can’t hear s***, I can’t hear s*** brother!”

Volkanovski: “You can use them as much as you want - Saturday night, it ends for you. That’s it.”

Holloway: “Saturday night we get to find out! Saturday night we get to find out!”

Volkanovski: “2-0 baby.”

Holloway: “Let’s go!”

Third time lucky?

Back at UFC 245 in December 2019, Alexander Volkanovski surprised a lot of pundits by defeating Max Holloway to become the new UFC featherweight champion. He did so in a highly technical chess match and just seven months later, the promotion decided to run it back on Fight Island.

While the fight was even closer the second time around, it was the Australian who once again had his hand raised in victory.

The 145-pound division is rarely considered to be on the same level as bantamweight or lightweight but when it comes to elite title fights, and some of the pound-for-pound best athletes in the game, there are few better than these two.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy what could well be another Fight of the Year contender in Vegas.