Alex Volkanovski is not buying Max Holloway’s claim that he’s been training alone for UFC 251

UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski is not buying Max Holloway’s claim that he has been training alone in preparation for their fight at UFC 251.

Volkanovski meets Holloway in a rematch next Saturday at UFC 251 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. The two met last December at UFC 245 in Las Vegas, where Volkanovski pulled off a stunning upset, defeating Holloway via unanimous decision and taking home the UFC featherweight crown. Despite Volkanovski clearly winning the fight, the UFC decided to give Holloway an immediate rematch and the two will once again lock horns when they square off in the Octagon next weekend at UFC 251.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many fighters in the UFC have seen their training camps be compromised due to their gyms not being open and training partners and coaches not being available. Holloway is apparently one those fighters who have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic in regards to his training regiment, as the Hawaiian admitted last week that he hasn’t even been sparring in anticipation for this rematch. He says that all of his training has been done virtually through Zoom calls with his coaches.

However, Volkanovski isn’t completely buying that. The UFC featherweight champion told ESPN’s Ariel Helwani that he doesn’t believe Holloway hasn’t been training for their bout.

“To be quite honest, I don’t believe that. That’s all sh*t. Whether he’s doing it to cover things on his end — I don’t want to accuse him of anything — but we had to get exemptions to train, so I couldn’t train until I got that done. So there was a lot that needed to happen for the government. Again, I’m not going to accuse him of anything, but I don’t believe that he hasn’t been training. I’m preparing for a fully prepared Max either way,” Volkanovski said.

It’s hard to know for sure either way what is going on behind closed doors, but as Volkanovski said, he’s been preparing for the best version of Holloway regardless of what the Hawaiian has been doing. Even though Volkanovski won the first fight without much trouble, the rematch could be a very different fight this time around. Even if Holloway’s training camp has been compromised, he’s still a future UFC Hall of Famer and Volkanovski is prepared for whatever comes his way next Saturday on Fight Island.

Do you think Alex Volkanovski is right and Max Holloway isn’t telling the truth about his training camp for UFC 251?