Tag: Alexander Volkanovski

Alexander Volkanovski has two fights he’d like at 155 if he’s waiting for featherweight title shot

Alexander Volkanovski ponders a return to lightweight while waiting for his featherweight title shot.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] ponders a return to lightweight while waiting for his featherweight title shot.

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his featherweight title to Ilia Topuria by knockout at UFC 298. The former five-time defending champion has been urged to take some time off after back-to-back knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Topuria, so he won’t be getting the immediate rematch he desired.

Instead, Topuria is expected to make his first title defense against Max Holloway later in the year, and Volkanovski would like to stay busy – at lightweight.

“For me right now, what excites me?” Volkanovski said on FREESTYLEBENDER. “The things that excite me in featherweight, it’s just the belt – obviously the rematch and the belt? That’s big. I’m still that competitor where, ‘All right, this is my division. I’m getting it back. I want that win back’ – things like that. So it’s going to be there. But then at lightweight, let’s have some fun while we’re waiting. I think they’re probably going to do Max and Ilia September,

“I told the UFC I didn’t want to fight till later in the year. I really committed to that in my head. Now I’ve started training, I’m like, ‘I wish I didn’t tell them that.’ So I did that, but that’s fair. I did say, ‘Look, I don’t want to wait too long, either.’ I’m in a position now where if they do that and they want me to fight bloody in March or something, or April, I was like, ‘Oh, well, all right, I’m going to fight a lightweight. Give me exciting fights.'”

Volkanovski challenged lightweight champion Makhachev twice, but fell short in both opportunities. Two particular names stand out as desired fights for Volkanovski at 155 pounds.

“I want an exciting fighter like a Charles Oliveira,” Volkanovski said. “I did call out (Dustin) Poirier after that. He’s a great dude. We get along. I think he’s a good man and he’s obviously a big, fun fight. There’s still history there with mutual opponents. He used to fight at featherweight, things like that, and obviously a big name – fun fight, that would be. So that’s exciting.

“Charles Oliveira, there’s a lot of exciting fights that I would love to do while I’m waiting as well. So yeah – just whatever excites me. The belt excites me. Ilia, obviously, rematch excites me. So that’s the main thing in the featherweight. I wouldn’t just fight anyone in featherweight because my next fight’s for the title, and that’s that.”

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Diego Lopes calls for Brian Ortega or Alexander Volkanovski at Noche UFC

After his win over Dan Ige at UFC 303, Diego Lopes wants a big fight against Brian Ortega or Alexander Volkanovski.

A big fight. That’s what [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag] wants, and in his humble opinion, that’s what he thinks he deserves.

The rising UFC featherweight is hoping the promotion returns the favor in granting him a fight against [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag] or former champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] at Noche UFC – the event celebrating Mexican Independence Day on Sept. 14 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

It’s a big ask and two highly-coveted matchups at 145 pounds. However, given what Lopes has been through in the past week, he’s hoping that’s what he gets.

“They said I could fight at The Sphere, Dana White said at the press conference and yeah, if they can re-book the fight, that would be great,” Lopes told MMA Junkie in Spanish when asked about another booking against Brian Ortega. “We do have to see how he is health-wise and if he truly wants to return to 145 pounds and go through all that process. UFC would have to talk to him about that, but I already mentioned to the UFC that if it’s not Ortega, we would like a fight against Volkanovski. We want a fight against him.

“He’s another guy that’s in the top five and is not booked and waiting. I think with what we’ve done and the favors we’ve done for the UFC, I think we have a some points with them so we can push for certain fights, fights in the top five. So if it were up to me, Ortega or Volkanovski at The Sphere would be perfect.”

Diego Lopes (25-6 MMA, 4-1 UFC) took a short-notice fight against Brian Ortega for Saturday’s UFC 303 event in Las Vegas. The day of weigh-ins, the promotion asked him if he could take the fight at 155 pounds instead of the contractual 145. Lopes obliged. Then, on the day of the fight, once the card had started, Ortega withdrew due to illness, and the UFC asked Lopes to fight Dan Ige on hours’ notice at 165 pounds. Lopes obliged.

It was a chaotic week for Lopes, but having left as the winner, he is happy with his decisions. However, he admits fighting Ortega would’ve been his ideal scenario.

“I’m not going to lie, it did feel different,” Lopes said. “It didn’t have the same taste that I was expecting all two weeks prior. But at the same time, I think I was still able to show that I’m capable of fighting against the best in the world. We can say that Dan Ige is the gatekeeper of the division. His defeats have only been against ranked fighters. He’s only lost to the guys inside the rankings and all have been decisions and that’s fighting the best.

“People can say whatever they want, ‘Oh, he’s only No. 13 and this and that,’ but people forget that the message Dan Ige sent to Hunter (Campbell) was pretty clear. He was in camp for three months, was going to fight in two weeks, and didn’t have to cut weight. Basically, he went to do sparring, something he does every day. People forget that.”

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Alexander Volkanovski points to Brian Ortega’s durability, ‘granite chin’ as keys to UFC 303 win over Diego Lopes

Alexander Volkanovski thinks Brian Ortega’s experience will help him prevail at UFC 303.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Brian Ortega[/autotag]’s experience will help him prevail at UFC 303.

Ortega (16-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) takes on [autotag]Diego Lopes[/autotag] (24-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Lopes is coming off back-to-back first-round knockouts of Pat Sabatini and Sodiq Yusuff. Volkanovski expects Lopes to land on Ortega but isn’t sure if he’ll be able to put him away. The former featherweight champion also thinks Ortega’s striking is underrated.

“His (Lopes) striking is next level, but Ortega’s chin, you might wear him down, he might get hurt, I don’t know about shutting his lights off,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “I can’t see that happening. … Going from experience and what I’ve seen, he’s got a granite chin.

“I think that might cancel out the big KO punch from Lopes to get Ortega. It’s going to be interesting on the feet. Ortega’s got some pretty good skill on the feet. I think he’s going to want to do more work on the feet. I think he’s going to be working on the striking, and when he chooses to work on his striking, he’s actually got great striking.”

Volkanovski was pushed to the brink by Ortega in their title fight at UFC 266 in 2021. Ortega dropped Volkanovski and caught him in a deep guillotine choke, but Volk managed to battle out of it. He went on to batter Ortega for the unanimous decision win.

Volkanovski sees Ortega vs. Lopes as a guaranteed banger and hopes the fight hits the ground. Ultimately, he’s picking Ortega to get the upset win over the surging Lopes.

“Who am I picking? Lopes is favorite,” Volkanovski said. “Lopes is good, man. This is going to be the first time I might be going against Lopes. Ortega’s durability. It is a three-rounder. Does he do enough damage in the first two rounds to get a decision? Three rounds, man, am I going to go with Lopes? I think on the feet he’s going to land more because he’s going to come aggressive.

“I don’t think he’s going to drop him or knock him out. Could, but like I said, Ortega’s chin is legit. Man, this is a tricky one for me. I can’t pull the trigger on this. This one might ruin the parlays, guys. I’m going to go with the underdog here. I got a lot of respect for Lopes, and I know he’s going to bring it, and I know this is a short-notice fight, three rounds. Stylistically in this situation might favor him a little bit more, but I’m going to go Ortega.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.

Alexander Volkanovski wanted to ‘save the day’ at UFC 303, credits UFC for rejecting his offer

Alexander Volkanovski couldn’t help but offer his services for UFC 303.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] couldn’t help but offer his services for UFC 303.

After Conor McGregor withdrew from Saturday’s headliner vs. Michael Chandler at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas due to a broken pinky toe, the UFC scrambled for a replacement.

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) vowed to take some time off after being on the receiving end of knockouts against Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria in the span of four months, but he couldn’t fight the temptation of letting the UFC know that he’s willing to save the card.

“So I was like, ‘Hey, if you need someone, you know a guy,'” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “I did put my hand up. Obviously seen that some people put that up, so it got out there. Some people think I’m mad, but I am back into training now, and I am excited to get back in there. That’s all it takes, just a little thing like that, and I put my hand up.”

The UFC opted to go with a title-fight rematch between light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka instead. A featherweight co-main event between former title challenger Brian Ortega and surging contender Diego Lopes was also added.

Although Volkanovski was genuine in his offer to step in at UFC 303, he’s grateful that the UFC didn’t entertain his idea.

“But, it wasn’t me,” Volkanovski continued. “I didn’t get the call back. The UFC were like, ‘Oh no.’ They were sitting saying, ‘You’re a savage, but we’ll let you know if we need you’ type of thing. They knew I said earlier in the year and they said, ‘Look, let’s just have a bit of a break.’

“So, they were obviously respecting that, so good on them for that. Even though I kept reminding them, everyday I’m like, ‘I’m being serious, let me know.’ But they were sticking to their guns and I guess looking after me. You got to give them respect for that, but I did want to save the day.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.

Dricus Du Plessis points to Alexander Volkanovski as example of why he turned down UFC 300 offer

Dricus Du Plessis doesn’t think people understand how much money he was offered to fight at UFC 300.

[autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag] stands by his decision not to fight at UFC 300.

Middleweight champion Du Plessis (21-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) was called by the UFC to defend his title against Israel Adesanya (24-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) on the historic card April 13 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

He turned it down.

Du Plessis was recovering from a broken foot suffered in his title win over Sean Strickland less than three months before that at UFC 297, and wasn’t going to risk fighting compromised.

“I won’t say numbers just because I don’t like it, but I don’t think people understand the amount of money they offered me to fight at UFC 300,” Du Plessis told Fight Wave. “You don’t understand the bitter pill it was to say no to that fight. I had a broken foot. What do you guys want? The fight was eight weeks after.”

Du Plessis referenced former featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]’s bold move of stepping in on just 10 days’ notice to rematch lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. He was knocked out in Round 1, then lost his featherweight title to Ilia Topuria also by knockout at UFC 298.

“This is your career, you have to be smart about it,” Du Plessis said. “Look at Alex Volkanovski. …As a champion stepping in on a week’s notice. That is so bad ass, but what happened? What favors did that do him? Yeah, he got money. That’s not why I do this.

“He got money, but he got knocked out because obviously he didn’t have time to prepare for that fight. Do you think that anybody went, ‘Oh, but he took it on short notice?’ No, everybody went, ‘he got knocked out.’ He still got knocked out, still has that loss then lost his title.”

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Alexander Volkanovski says activity makes Islam Makhachev pound-for-pound No. 1 over Jon Jones

Alexander Volkanovski thinks Islam Makhachev is the rightful No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] thinks lightweight champion [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] is the rightful No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) submitted Dustin Poirier in Saturday’s UFC 302 headliner to notch his third title defense. In the post-fight news conference, UFC CEO Dana White claimed that former longtime light heavyweight champion and current heavyweight champ [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] should be No. 1 pound-for-pound over Makhachev.

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC), who lost twice to Makhachev, thinks recent strength of schedule has to play a part in the argument.

“You look at Jon Jones, all right, we get it, you’re going to say he’s the greatest fighter of all time,” Volkanovski told Submission Radio. “But pound-for-pound has to go with, you know, if you fought, where one (has fought) in the last few years, eight times, against the names, and you’ve only fought once. Like, that’s got to come into play.

“But I mean, (if) we’re talking GOAT or greatest of all time top fighters, you know Jon Jones’ name is going to be up there. No one’s saying that’s not the case. But pound-for-pound, I think there has to be some activity there and who you fought lately. Islam has fought some great fighters and won. So, you’ve got to give him a lot of credit for that. I think he’s pound-for-pound.”

Volkanovski expressed interest in fighting Poirier at lightweight while he waits for his featherweight title shot. He praised both Makhachev and Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) for their Fight of the Night efforts.

“I thought he (Poirier) fought great; Islam looked great, as well,” Volkanovski said. “I think a lot of people are expecting Dustin not to do so well. Like, obviously that first round it looked like, ‘Oh no, this is going to be a quick one.’ For him to bounce back from that and then start stopping the takedowns. The first one he got taken down pretty easily.

“So, I was like, ‘Oh, this ain’t a good look.’ But then he was able to stop him in the center, and he did a great job there. So, credit to him, showed toughness. But yeah, man, that’s expected from Dustin. We know he’s a gamer. We know he’s an absolute beast. And we know how good of a fighter Islam is. But I think Islam showed incredible striking, which we already knew.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

If Dustin Poirier doesn’t retire, ex-champ Alexander Volkanovski wants ‘a little dance’ after UFC 302

It’ll be nothing new to Dustin Poirier, but if he decides to stick around, he’ll have no shortage of potential opponents.

It’ll be nothing new to [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag], but if he decides to stick around in the MMA game a little bit longer, he’ll have no shortage of potential opponents while he heads toward the sunset.

Add former featherweight champion [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] to this list of fighters who would sign on the line for a fight with Poirier after UFC 302 on Saturday.

In the main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) was submitted in the fifth round by lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC), who defended his title for the third time, which ties the UFC’s record. Poirier, a former interim lightweight champ, had his third shot at an undisputed belt.

After the loss, Poirier said it may have been his final fight. At 35, he’s been fighting more than half his life, since he was 17. But Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) let it be known after UFC 302 he’d be interested in a fight with Poirier.

In February at UFC 298, Volkanovski lost the featherweight title to Ilia Topuria by second-round knockout. Topuria has been angling for a fight with Max Holloway with the “BMF” belt up for grabs, so Volkanovski may be hedging his bets if a rematch for the title isn’t in the cards.

“Maybe, just maybe, depending on what I’m doing and when – obviously I want to fight later in the year when I know exactly what’s happening,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel (h/t to Championship Rounds). “I don’t want to wait too long, either. If the timing works, maybe me and Dustin could have a good fight. I know he just wants good, fun fights. We’ve got a lot of respect for each other, and I think that would be a massive fight.

“That’s something that I’d be willing to do while I’m waiting for that featherweight title (shot). Maybe I could get a lightweight fight against someone like a Dustin Poirier, it would be great. You heard it here first. Maybe we can make something happen. Dustin, you’re a legend. Keep your head up. That was a great performance, still. Maybe we could have a little fun in there – have a little dance. Let me know what you think.”

Volkanovski has been adamant that his next fight at featherweight will be a fight for the title he once held. Short of that, he’ll fight at lightweight – where he lost two title shots to Makhachev before he lost his featherweight belt to Topuria.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Alexander Volkanovski guarantees ‘real’ version of himself in Ilia Topuria rematch, vows not to be timid

Alexander Volkanovski is eager for a second chance to fight UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] is eager for his chance to run things back with UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag].

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost his featherweight title to Topuria (15-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) by second-round knockout in February at UFC 298. Topuria is angling for his first title defense to be against Max Holloway, then wants a stadium fight vs. Conor McGregor in Spain.

Volkanovski doesn’t put too much stock into Topuria’s bold ambitions and hopes to rematch Topuria if he gets past Holloway. Volkanovski fought Topuria less than four months after getting knocked out by Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 and is confident he’d be a much better version in a rematch against Topuria.

“Ilia is a great fighter – let’s see because the next Volkanovski is going to turn up,” Volkanovski told The AllStar. “The real Volkanovski, I guarantee you that, and let’s see if Ilia can handle that. Again, I’m not taking anything away from him, I’m not saying he can’t. He’s obviously got heavy hands. He’s obviously got good skill, but I want him to be tested against the best version of myself or all the top guys and really prove himself.”

Volkanovski was uncharacteristically tentative against Topuria but said he won’t make that same mistake if they fight again.

“You’re not going to see a timid Volk. You’re going to see a Volk that fights his fight,” Volkanovski said. “You want to be put in front of me and put yourself in a position to land bombs, be ready for one coming straight back at you.”

With Topuria vs. Holloway yet to have a scheduled date, it could be a long wait for Volkanovski. The former featherweight champion is willing to fight again in the meantime – but only at lightweight.

“You find me an exciting fight, maybe in the lightweight division or something, like that that’s fun, maybe because I won’t want to wait too long,” Volkanovski said. “Maybe we could put something out there, but my next featherweight fight is for the belt. Obviously you had a few people call me out, which credit to them. … But believe me: I’m not in that position where I need to fight anybody else but the champ.”

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Alexander Volkanovski predicts Islam Makhachev will finish Dustin Poirier at UFC 302 – but how?

Alexander Volkanovski sees Islam Makhachev reigning over the lightweight division for a while.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] sees [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] reigning over the lightweight division for a while.

Makhachev (25-1 MMA, 14-1 UFC) defends his lightweight title against [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 302 (pay-per-view/ESPN2/ESPN+) headliner at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

“Islam’s going to be too good,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “I think he’s too safe of a fighter to make mistakes where he’s going to get caught against someone like Dustin Poirier. Dustin Poirier is a great fighter. I just think it’s a hard fight for anybody and I don’t see anyone beating Islam for a while – unless they catch him, right?”

In a matchup between two southpaws, former featherweight champion Volkanovski analyzed where Makhachev could face problems – even though he thinks he’s too calculated to fall into them.

“He doesn’t like to come in straight where he feels in danger,” Volkanovski said of Makhachev. “He’ll make sure he’s off center. His head is off line and then he gets himself back into a better posture as he’s taking you down. Khabib was like this, as well. The posture is not right, but he’s doing this to keep his head off center and not in the firing line, and he still does a great takedown from there.

“But now he’s going to be doing that with a southpaw fighter. So you dip, you’re going to be a lot more comfortable shooting. If someone pressures you and gets you off guard, or your instinct reaction is to shoot, most of the time you’re shooting against orthodox fighters, your head’s going to dip to this side. Now you’re dipping to the power side of Poirier because he’s southpaw: power side uppercuts, power side kicks, power side knees.”

Volkanovski fought Makhachev twice – losing a close decision at UFC 284, then getting knocked out in their short-notice rematch at UFC 294. He predicts that Makhachev will put Poirier away.

“I think Islam is that good where it’s going to be a finish,” Volkanovski said. “I think it’s going to be a submission finish.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 302.

Alexander Volkanovski open to fourth Max Holloway fight now that he’s BMF champion

Alexander Volkanovski now has an incentive to fight Max Holloway again after “Blessed” became UFC BMF champion.

[autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] now has an incentive to fight [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag] again.

Former featherweight champion Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) has beaten Holloway (26-7 MMA, 22-7 UFC) three times in title fights, and is the only fighter to get the best of “Blessed” at 145 pounds in the past 10 years.

Volkanovski put a stamp in their trilogy with a dominant performance at UFC 276 in July 2022.

With Volkanovski as champion, Holloway found himself in a quandary, because a fourth fight was always going to be a hard sell. But after Ilia Topuria dethroned Volkanovski in February at UFC 298, and Holloway knocked out Justin Gaethje to claim the BMF title at UFC 300, suddenly a fourth fight isn’t out of the realm of possibility for Volkanovski.

“Would I fight him (Holloway)? I mean, now that he’s got a BMF we might have to do this, you know what I mean?” Volkanovski told Fox Sports Australia. “I was always sitting there like, ‘How could you do it (a fourth fight)?’

“But maybe there is that something there – you know, there’s a BMF now. For me, it’s 3-0, how can you get yourself out of bed for that? A BMF is something I haven’t touched before, so maybe we can do that, you know? So we’ll see what happens.”

For now, Volkanovski is focused on running things back with Topuria. Holloway, meanwhile, positioned himself in title contention with his knockout of Gaethje, but Topuria’s first title defense is yet to be announced.

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