MAX Holloway has questioned their power, but UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski says fans will be in a unique position to judge his leg kicks for themselves given the unique circumstances of their rematch on Sunday.
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Chopping blows to the legs of the former champion proved the move of the bout for Volkanovski in their meeting last December, one in which he dethroned the Hawaiian to claim the featherweight strap.
Holloway has suggested the judges put too much stock in those kicks, among a number of comments that have prompted Volkanovski to suggest his rival may have "lost the plot" as result of isolation.
Either way, fans will get a rare insight with no crowd in attendance on Fight Island, an atmosphere that's produced some telegenic bouts and given fans an unprecedented look into the octagon.
Justin Gaethje's interim lightweight title victory over Tony Ferguson and a Fight of the Year candidate between Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker - a training partner of Volkanovski - a fortnight ago have won rave reviews from television viewers.
Volkanovski is welcoming the chance to bring fans, especially those that will flock to Wollongong pubs on Sunday, into the octagon in similar fashion on Sunday.
"Obviously we want to fight and entertain in front of a crowd but we can't do that right now," Volkanovski said.
"The people watching at home, it's a lot more real, they can hear the connections, they can hear the corner, there's so much more they can hear other than the chaos.
"There's been a narrative around leg kicks, Max was trying to say it didn't hurt... you wait until you hear them with no crowd, you wait til you hear that echoing through your screen when I start landing those shots.
"You're going to hear my shots and those connections and understand, all right this is no joke. I can't wait to show people that, I'm excited to fight in front of them that way.
"I'm a composed fighter, I go in there and zone everything out anyway. I'd rather fight in front of a crowd and entertain, it would've been good to fight in Perth like we were planning on doing, but I can entertain everyone through those screens and let them feel that real raw fighting atmosphere."
Whether he employs the same game plan in their second fight remains to be seen, but there's no doubt kicks went a long way to nullifying Holloway's famous volume-punching come-forward style.
It's likely to see him make only subtle tweaks to the method that took him on 14-fight divisional win-streak and made him a fan favourite.
He's notably fed off fan energy in the past, but Holloway doesn't expect it to be be a factor in the rematch in which he'll be looking to hand Volkanovski his first career defeat at featherweight.
"It doesn't make me or break me," Holloway said.
"The crowd is cool, feeding off their energy is fun, but you could send me a contract for fighting in a parking lot or an alleyway. As long as we get paid, as long as it's legal and I don't get in trouble, I'm gonna show up.
"I wish it was in Australia, it would've been a big stadium and that would've been cool to experience, but this is the hand we're dealt. We're hear in Abu Dhabi, one of the biggest fight cards of the year, Fight Island, it's super dope."
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
