Relative to Justin if we are being honest Yair was way better - more out put, more diversity, repeatedly catching Max defensively open.
FIGHT STAT COMPARISON
Yair/Max
RD 1 - 37 / 38
RD 2 - 42 / 58
RD 3 - 20 / 38
RD 4 - 24 / 43
RD 5 - 36 / 53
[159/230]
Justin/Max
RD 1 - 12 / 25
RD 2 - 18 / 30
RD 3 - 20 / 29
RD 4 - 35 / 35
RD 5 - 18 / 62
[103/181]
So just looking at the stats:
-
Justin only had one round (RD4 - 35 strikes) where he exceeded Yair's worst round (RD 3 - 20 strikes).
-Yair's worst round was RD 3 when he got grapple-fucked and he still only got out-landed 2:1; Justin got out-landed 2:1 in the opening round and 3.5:1 in the last round.
-Yair landed 50% more strikes than Justin despite spending 25% of the fight on his back
Please name another fight where Max Holloway utilized wrestling repeatedly to beat an opponent.
I think you are confusing Volk/Max 3 with Volk/Max 1 (in the third one Max got his ass beat, the first one was close enough where people claimed Max got robbed, though I had Volk winning pretty clearly).
If you think Volk has better/more damaging leg kicks than Yair I've got a bridge to sell you my friend...
The first round with Yair was pretty even but once Yair got his kicking game ramped up Max immediately looked to clinch/wrestle. I don't think anyone "no sells" taking damage better than Max, so we need to look at his in-fight adjustments to see how his opponents are doing - since Max is a pure stand-up fighter if you get him to wrestle you early he must be feeling the damage and realize he needs to change the fight dynamic.