'Not OK': Nasty 'threat' aftermath of Aussie champ's UFC victory
Max Holloway has condemned fans over an ugly aftermath to his controversial loss to Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 251.
The American has pleaded with fans to stop the abuse after angry fans continue to fume about the split decision that saw Aussie Volkanovski retain his title.
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Holloway took to Twitter to urge fans to keep their comments respectful after he landed in Las Vegas on Monday morning.
The 28-year-old began by calling out fans for threatening the reporters who believed Alexander Volkanovski deserved to win Sunday’s fight.
Just landed in Vegas for another quarantine and was told some guys in the media are receiving threats for saying my fight was not a robbery. This is not ok. I appreciate everyone who wants to ride for me but that ain't it.
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) July 13, 2020
Holloway then put things into perspective, explaining life isn’t fair, but he’s doing better than most.
Despite the loss, Holloway said he’s grateful to have his health.
He also feels like he proved himself at UFC 251.
It is what it was. Nothing changed for me as a fighter. We proved our point. I still have my five belts at home. I'm 28 and healthy. Blessed era continues. Bless yourself 🤙🏻
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) July 13, 2020
Sunday’s fight ended in a controversial manner, as Volkanovski defeated Holloway in a split decision at UFC 251.
After five rounds, two judges scored it 48-47 for Volkanovski. One judge scored it 48-47 for Holloway. Yahoo Sports scored it 49-46 for Holloway.
Volkanovski retained the featherweight title with the win.
UFC president takes aim at judges
UFC boss Dana White and fans were left seething over his contentious split-points win over former champion Holloway.
Some pundits, media, social media and UFC boss White felt Holloway did enough to win, as he landed more strikes in each of the first three rounds.
But the champion stayed composed under early fire and pushed the pace in the last two rounds of the UFC 251 bout on Yas Island.
But White was critical of the judges.
"You can't leave it to those guys, we've got some bad judging," White said.
“Did anybody in here score it for Volkanovski?
“Anybody have it for Volkanovski? Nobody in the media? I don’t know, we’ll have to figure it out.”
White even went as far to claim the UFC might have to ‘tighten’ up the refs and judges on fight island after uproar when Petr Yan was allowed to pummel Jose Aldo in the final round, which many thought should have been stopped.
“Looks like we’ve got to tighten up our refs and judges here on ‘Fight Island,’” White said.
