5 Lightweight opponents for Alexander Volkanovski
Alexander Volkanovski is currently in an interesting situation in the UFC. The UFC featherweight champion was successfully retained against Brian Ortega at UFC 266 and now waits for another contender to emerge. Featherweight contenders Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez are scheduled to fight next month in a title-eliminator bout. However, Volkanovski could be out of action longer than he hoped if the winner sustains a significant amount of damage.
After Volkanovski retained against Ortega, he said that he’d prefer staying active and wouldn’t be opposed to a lightweight bout. There are plenty of possibilities for Volkanovski at lightweight as he waits on the winner of Holloway-Rodrguez.
The featherweight champion moving up wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. In 2019, then-champion Holloway moved up to 155lbs and fought Dustin Poirier for the interim-lightweight championship. After Holloway was unsuccessful, he returned to featherweight and defended his title against Ortega.
This list will look at 5 possible opponents for Alexander 'The Great' if he moves up to lightweight.
#5. Alexander Volkanovski vs Beneil Dariush
Kicking off the list of potential opponents for Alexander Volkanovski at 155lbs is third-ranked lightweight Beneil Dariush. If Volkanovski wants to get a fight at lightweight early in the new year, Dariush would make perfect sense. Dariush hasn’t fought since May, when he defeated Tony Ferguson via unanimous decision at UFC 262. Since Dariush doesn’t currently have a bout scheduled, the promotion will be available to book the fight.
Volkanovski fighting the third-ranked lightweight would provide a better idea if he has a future in the division. Although Dariush would have the height disadvantage, Volkanovski wouldn’t look out of place at 155lbs. During Volkanovski’s days as a rugby player, he was well over 200lbs.
When Alexander Volkanovski was a rugby player he weighed 214lbs...
Heavy enough to be in the UFC's heavyweight division 😳 #UFC251 https://t.co/RX9MHeidPx
Dariush would be a great opponent because he is currently on a seven-fight win streak and looked impressive in his recent win over Ferguson. It was a dominant win for Dariush as he took Ferguson down and maintained control in all three rounds. The win over Ferguson was important for Dariush as it proved that he is among the top in the division.
Beneil Dariush with a shutout performance against Tony Ferguson.
Here's the Global Scorecard for the biggest win of Dariush's career.
#UFC262 https://t.co/ETG4Ff2apf
Furthermore, Dariush has earned another high-profile fight and one with the current featherweight champion would be just that. Volkanovski-Dariush would be a win-win for both as a decisive win could earn them a lightweight title shot.