Just one month after being forced to withdraw from a featherweight championship fight against Alexander Volkanovski because of an undisclosed injury, Max Holloway received medical clearance to train again.
Brett Okamoto of ESPN reported on Friday that not only did the former UFC featherweight champion get cleared, but he has also offered to serve as a replacement for either Volkanovski or Chan Sung Jung should something happen to one of them before their fight at UFC 273 in April.
Whether the UFC elects ‘Blessed’ to be the alternate fighter remains to be seen. Per the initial report, the brass has already been made aware of the offer, but has not made a decision at this time. The promotion also has another option in Calvin Kattar, who recently expressed interest in filling that role following his unanimous decision win over Giga Chikadze at UFC Vegas 46 this past January.
Holloway was expected to meet Volkanovski for the third time at UFC 272 in March. However, days after the fight was officially announced, the 30-year-old reportedly re-aggravated a previous injury and would be unable to compete then. The UFC quickly sought out a replacement for Volkanovski and opted to go with the No. 4 ranked contender in ‘The Korean Zombie’. Jung returned to the win column with a decision over Dan Ige at UFC Vegas 29 last June.
Volkanovski was in action at UFC 266, where he successfully defended his title in a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate opposite of Brian Ortega. Prior to his defense, the City Kickboxing product won — and defended — his championship against Holloway in back-to-back outings at UFC 245 and UFC 251.
As Holloway awaits word on his reserve status, the UFC has confirmed that UFC 273 will take place in Jacksonville, Florida, with a venue yet to be determined. It should be noted that events previously held here were at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, so that could be a potential venue to host to the upcoming pay-per-view event.
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