Even for a man of few words, which Lopez famously is, it's a new level of brevity.

There's and understandable sense of deja as he prepares to send long-time charge Alex Volkanovski into the cage with the Hawaiian for a third time.

Read more: Pressure pendulum swings in Volkanovski-Holloway rivalry

While Volkanovski first faced Holloway in December 2019, the former champion had been on the mind of coach and fighter for a lot longer.

As the Aussie churned through the ranks en route to his first title shot, Holloway was the prize at the end. After comprehensively dethroning Holloway in their first bout, respect for his previous reign saw an immediate rematch.

Volkanovski moved to 2-0 against Holloway in their second bout - albeit in more controversial circumstances than their first.

While two more commanding defences of his title and a climb to No. 2 on the UFC pound-for-pound rankings has brought some overdue respect for Volkanovski, some fans just haven't let it go.

Little wonder Lopez will happily never review film of Holloway again after their third - and hopefully final - bout on July 3, though he always sensed the inevitability of it.

"Max is probably still the toughest guy in the [featherweight] division," Lopez said.

"The second [reason] is just to shut up all the Max fans, even though that's lost a lot of its sting. I think Alex is finally getting the credit he deserves.

Read more: Volkanovski puts on striking clinic in demolition of 'Korean Zombie'

"He's had two really good wins over two worthy opponents (Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung) and he's made them look pretty ordinary.

"From Zombie (Sung Jung) It's been a very short turnaround. We knew we were going to have Max but we didn't know when and the match-makers actually said 'look, there's some other options there for you as well' but Max has stepped up.

"I always say it's good to face the best and he is the number one [ranked] guy so we've got to face him. We'll see how Max goes with Alex 2.0."

And you best believe that's what Holloway will get, with Lopez adamant Volkanovski's well and truly levelled up since their last fight, a split decision win in July 2020.

Even through lengthy championship reigns, the likes of Anderson Silva, Georges St Pierre and Demetrius Johnson had a pockets of untouchability.

It's where Volkanovski currently sits according to his first - and thus far only - head coach.

"His whole persona and confidence has changed," Lopez said.

"He's always been confident, but I think he always had it in the back of his mind that he was just a guy from Windang and he wasn't supposed to be there.

"Now he's wearing his world title on his sleeve and he says 'I am the world champion and I'm going to perform like it'. I think it just shows in his last two performances.

"I can see it in his training, his mindset, hitting pads, his striking. He's never doubted himself, but he's jumped up two or three gears. He's just on a different level now."

Beyond settling old scores, a win will open the door to a shot at the currently vacant UFC lightweight strap to which stripped former champion Charles Oliviera remains the No. 1 contender.

Two-weight champions occupy rarefied air. More than anything else, Holloway stands in the way of that ambition.

"There's a lot of talk, not just from us but from the UFC as well, that if Alex gets this one done we'll probably get a go at the lightweight title," Lopez said.

"There's a few other guys there, Islam [Makhachev] is already posting for Alex to get back in his lane, but Charles would be a great fight for Alex.

"We'll see what happens, but we've got Max in front of us right now and that's where our focus is."

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