For UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, the saga between him and Max Holloway is one that is seemingly never going to end.
Despite being up 2-0 in the series, Volkanovski was tentatively scheduled to face his Hawaiian rival for a third time on March 5 at UFC 272 before an injury dropped Holloway out of the planned matchup. Volkanovski’s next title defense instead shifted to an April 9 date against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung at UFC 273 — a move that ensured Volkanovski will be forced to continue thinking and hearing about Holloway for the foreseeable future, just as he has since their rivalry first began in mid-2019.
” I was disappointed,” Volkanovski recently admitted on The MMA Hour .
“Man, I just was really looking forward to that fight. It was true. It was just that I had begun — I was eager to go into camp, get the things moving and finish that chapter. It is as it is, everyone knows that. But it was unfortunate. Of course it’s a big fight, I know people wanted to see it. What do you do? That’ll just have to wait until later.”
Once Holloway’s withdrawal was official, Volkanovski said his top priority was simply being able to find any sort of replacement that made sense. He’d hoped to have a busy 2022 after fighting only once in each of the past two years, so keeping his March 5 date was his first choice. But ultimately he had to work with the options available to him, so he and his team quickly settled on bringing in the one-time title challenger Jung for UFC 273.
“I made it clear straight after my fight [in September], I wanted to fight regularly,” Volkanovski said. “Even fighting in March was later than I would’ve liked, because I wanted to go and get some defenses in. “I want to fight as many times as possible this year.
” So the boys chatted with [the UFC], and I, then [Jung] became clear. And again, they know what I’m like. It would be a shame if I had to go up against men who don’t deserve it. That’s not what I’m what I’m about. Give me guys who make sense. He’s an OG of the sport. You talk about legacy, he’s one of the biggest names in the division as well. I want to take out all the guys, the legends of the featherweight division, and he’s one of them. And he’s coming off a win, a good win off Dan Ige. It’s therefore the best, which is why we chose .”
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Jung’s record speaks for itself in many aspects. The 34-year-old is a fan favorite from the WEC days who has previously fought for a UFC title and was just one win away from a shot at Volkanovski’s belt in late 2020 before he ran into Brian Ortega. That loss is Jung’s only setback of the last three years and was preceded by highlight-reel first-round knockouts of Frankie Edgar and Renato Moicano. “The Korean Zombie” won a dominant decision over Ige in his most recent bout last June.
Jung, Volkanovski have a somewhat contentious past due to Jung’s search for the belt before the Ortega fight.
So in Volkanovski’s eyes, the bout checked all of the right boxes.
“Of course. It is,” Volkanovski replied when asked if the matchup is personal. “There was a time where he, I guess, decided to play the heel, or his manager, or someone did anyway. And he was there calling us out and saying some things. So yeah, there is a bit of history there. It’s important to keep in mind that he was fighting for the No. 1 contender when Brian [Ortega] and him fought, so it shows you that he was close to that title shot, but it didn’t go his way, so that’s why I fought Brian.
” He went back to his job and did the right thing. He’s fortunate — if Max did not pull out, no one of these guys would have the chance. We don’t know but it’s what happened. So I want to fight, and the UFC wanted us to still fight, so we all agreed that Zombie was the guy to do it with. Again, there is a bit of history. He’s an OG of the division. Let’s get that done .”
Of course Volkanovski was not short of potential suitors looking to take his place as the title holder. From the respectful callouts of Josh Emmett and Jung to the less respectful approaches taken by Giga Chikadze and Yair Rodriguez, Volkanovski was a popular guy at 145 pounds in the days after Holloway’s withdrawal.
But Volkanovski claims that one of the biggest names, the retired two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo was not actually part of the conversation.
” I don’t mind him,” Volkanovski stated. “Obviously, we have a bit of fun and he’s always trying to troll me and get under my skin and make that fight happen.
“Again, I get people who are going to say I’m running and whatnot. The UFC never brought up his name, ever. And it was never mentioned to me, it was never even close to an option. How am I going to take it seriously if the UFC doesn’t take it seriously? And I don’t even know if Henry is really taking it serious. But man, I like the guy. His skills are amazing. He’s done amazing things in different divisions. And you retired, so it just doesn’t make sense.
” If there were ever a moment that I would do it, it was probably now,” Volkanovski said. “But again, the UFC weren’t going to bring it up. They’re thinking that, what’s the point? You don’t deserve it. And then what if you do somehow get it done — you’re just going to retire and [drop the belt again]? Even though I heard Henry say, ‘Oh, if I do that, I’ll stay,’ I don’t think they believe that. You wouldn’t have to worry about it .”
