Max Holloway to Fight Alex Volkanovski for Featherweight Title at UFC 245

Paul KasabianSenior ContributorSeptember 22, 2019

EDMONTON, ALBERTA - JULY 27: Max Holloway celebrates after defeating Frankie Edgar in their UFC featherweight championship bout during the UFC 240 event at Rogers Place on July 27, 2019 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC)

Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Max Holloway will put his UFC featherweight title on the line versus Alexander Volkanovski on Dec. 14 at UFC 245 in Las Vegas, according to Nick Walshaw of the Daily Telegraph.

Mike Bohn and Farah Hannoun of MMAJunkie confirmed the original report, and Volkanovski referenced the bout in a tweet:

Alex Volkanovski @alexvolkanovski
Ready to show everybody who the best FW in the world is! #UFC245

The 27-year-old Holloway sports a 21-4 professional MMA record. He has been the UFC's featherweight champion since a third-round TKO of Jose Aldo at UFC 212 in June 2017.

Holloway has successfully defended his title three times, most recently versus Frankie Edgar at UFC 240 in July. He rose up the ranks to lightweight and faced Dustin Poirier for the interim light heavyweight belt on April 13 but lost via unanimous decision.

The 30-year-old Volkanovski may be Holloway's toughest title challenger yet, as the Australian is 20-1 in the professional ranks (7-0 UFC).

Volkanovski, who hasn't lost since May 2013, is riding a 17-match winning streak.

His last Octagon appearance occurred on May 11 at UFC 237 after a win over Aldo via unanimous decision. Volkanovski is ranked as the UFC's No. 1 contender for the belt.

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The UFC 245 card looks stacked, with Amanda Nunes defending her women's bantamweight belt against Germaine De Randamie. ESPN's Ariel Helwani reported there could even be another title addition:

Ariel Helwani @arielhelwani
Max Holloway vs. Alexander Volkanovski is a done deal for UFC 245 on Dec. 14 in Las Vegas, per sources. That’s the second title fight on the card (Nunes vs. GDR, too). Current goal is one more but the third isn’t locked in yet. First reported by Australia’s Daily Telegraph.

Other fights include No. 2 women's flyweight Jessica Eye facing off against Viviane Araujo and No. 7 welterweight Santiago Ponzinibbio taking on No. 13 Robbie Lawler.