Max Holloway declares Alexander Volkanovski pound-for-pound king after UFC 276 victory

Australian put on a dominant display to retain his featherweight crown and move 3-0 up in the rivalry

Alexander Volkanovski lands a punch on Max Holloway duriing their UFC featherweight title bout during UFC 276 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Reuters

Max Holloway lands a punch on Alexander Volkanovski during their bout at during UFC 276. Reuters

Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway in action during their bout at UFC 276. Reuters

Alexander Volkanovski lands a punch on Max Holloway during their fight at UFC 276. Reuters

Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway trade shots during their bout at UFC 276. Reuters

Alexander Volkanovski punches Max Holloway in their featherweight title bout during UFC 276. Getty

Alexander Volkanovski exits the octagon after his unanimous decision win over Max Holloway. Getty

Alexander Volkanovski celebrates his unanimous decision win over Max Holloway at UFC 276. Getty

Alexander Volkanovski leaves the octagon after his unanimous decision win over Max Holloway. Getty

Israel Adesanya throws a punch at Jared Cannonier during their middleweight title fight at UFC 276. Reuters

Israel Adesanya lands a kick on Jared Cannonier during their bout at UFC 276. Reuters

Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier during their middleweight bout at UFC 276. Reuters

Israel Adesanya speaks to Joe Rogan after defeating Jared Cannonier at UFC 276. Reuters

Israel Adesanya celebrates after retaining his middleweight title against Jared Cannonier at UFC 276. AP

Israel Adesanya celebrates his unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonie. Getty

Israel Adesanya exits the octagon after his unanimous decision win over Jared Cannonier. Getty

Israel Adesanya makes his way to the octagon for his middleweight title bout against Jared Cannonier. Getty

Israel Adesanya prepares to enter the octagon for his middleweight title bout against Jared Cannonier. Getty

Max Holloway has labelled long-time foe Alexander Volkanovski the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC after the Australian came out on top in their trilogy bout at UFC 276 on Sunday.

Volkanovski lifted the rivalry to 3-0 in his favour with an emphatic defence of his featherweight crown against the former champion at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, coming through their third encounter by unanimous decision.

Holloway was heavily beaten, with the Hawaiian leaving the clash significantly bloodied and bruised. The victory extended Volkanovski’s win streak to 22 (12-0 in the UFC), with the manner of the performance only cementing his position towards the very summit of the sport.

The Australian had gone into the match-up as the UFC's No 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter - with only welterweight champion Kamaru Usman ahead of him in the overall standings.

On Sunday, immediately following his success, Volkanovski reiterated his desire to go up to lightweight to challenge for double-champion status.

And Holloway seems to agree. In his first public comments since the defeat, he jokingly tweeted: “I’m still up 2-0 on knockdowns for trilogy. Prob [going to] need a 4th to settle this. Just playing. Congrats to my brother [Alexander Volkanovski].

"Go get that [lightweight] strap. You earned the shot. You’re No. 1 [pound-for-pound] right now. To all the fans, do not cry for me, Argentina. This is part of life. We need to rebuild and we will. I love you.”

Volkanovski and Holloway first squared off in December 2019 before meeting once again the following July, during the inaugural Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. All three bouts have gone to the judges' scorecards.