Featherweight champ reveals broken thumb in 2nd round of trilogy fight; gives timeline for recovery
Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski revealed thursday on Twitter that he suffered a broken thumb in the 2nd round of his trilogy bout with rival Max Holloway. The reigning champ is set to undergo surgery today and will be out for 12 weeks. Along with the message, the champ shared an image of his x-ray to show the extent of the damage
Ultimately, the injury didn’t change the outcome of the bout as the champion Won a dominate decision to go 3-0 against his rival. With the win he extends his impressive fight win streak to 22 with an unbeaten 12-0 record in the UFC And a fourth straight featherweight title defence.
Volkanovski called for a title fight at 155 for the currently vacant belt but, the injury may put the brake on those plans. Front runners, Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev are expected to compete for the strap sometime in the near future and the 12-week timeline for Volkanovski may take him out of the conversation.
With that being said, Volkanovski still has plenty of options in the featherweight division. There’s Josh Emmett who’s coming off a massive split decision win over Calvin Kattar. Top ranked contenders Brian Ortega and Yair Rodriguez battle to put their name in the title picture. Also, the featherweight division is littered with young and exciting talent such as Arnold Allen, Bryce Mitchell And Ilia Topuria who could all soon make their claim to challenge the champion. Only time will tell what is next for Volkanovski.
