Max Holloway's journey back to the title

Two wins and two Fight of the Night bonuses brought him back to Volkanovski, who had himself defeated Brian Ortega and The Korean Zombie since their rematch. It was all in vain, however, as Volkanovski showed perhaps the best form of his career, dominating Holloway for 25 minutes and scoring clear decisions on all three scorecards.

A third loss to the same man could discourage most fighters, but “Blessed” seemed to progress smoothly. He landed back in the rankings for his next fight, a main event against Arnold Allen in April 2023, who had not yet lost in the Octagon at that point. Holloway chose the motto “still here” ahead of the fight, again hoping to remind people that he was one of the best featherweights in the world.

UFC 308 embedded | MMA trainers beat Holloway vs. Topuria this Saturday

Even though it wasn't as dominant as against Kattar, Holloway took a cautious approach with Allen. He went the distance, increased his volume as the fight grew, and essentially stifled any offense Allen wanted to muster. When Allen charged forward in the fifth round, Holloway was happy to oblige, scoring a quick knockdown in the final seconds. The fight was Holloway's first headlining bout in the United States since defeating Jose Aldo a second time in Detroit, and as the Hawaiian flags flew in Kansas City, Holloway proved he was still in the game and with both feet in it The title was there for another run.

Four months later, when Volkanovski made a detour to lightweight before defeating Yair Rodriguez in another featherweight title defense, Holloway flew to Singapore to face The Korean Zombie. Emotions ran high that night and in the days leading up to the fight as Holloway expressed concern about the devastating fire that struck the island of Maui this week. The UFC allowed Holloway to come out with the Hawaiian state flag and he delivered another epic performance. After a few laps at the front, Holloway had to weather the storm of the onrushing zombie to open the third lap. When challenged by Korea's greatest mixed martial artist, Holloway placed an overhand squarely on his opponent's forehead, scoring his first finish since December 2018. The bout would be the Korean Zombie's final bout.