"I'm putting myself in this position so no one else takes it away from me" - Alexander Volkanovski addresses Beneil Dariush claiming to be backup fighter for UFC 280 headliner
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski recently announced himself as the official backup fighter for the UFC 280 title fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev.
Later, Beneil Dariush went on record to dispute Volkanosvki's claim. According to Dariush, he was expected to be the backup fighter for the UFC 280 main event, not the featherweight champ.
Volkanovski recently sat down with Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports to clear the air and address Dariush's claim. The 34-year-old said that he and his team were ready to fly out to Abu Dhabi, and he was also getting paid to weigh in as the backup fighter. 'The Great' said that miscommunication might have led Dariush to believe that he was the backup fighter for Oliveira vs. Makhachev:
"I don't know from his point, but I am the back-up fighter. I know I am. I'm flying my corner. We all got out flights, we got everything we need... So everything's already happening. I'm getting paid to jump on that scale so it's pretty clear that I'm obviously the back-up.
I'm sure maybe he did get told that by someone. Maybe the person that told him that did get told that before they knew I was locked in... and they just haven't had that conversation," said Alexander Volkanovski.
You can watch Alexander Volkanovski's full interview below:
Dariush also has a fight lined up at UFC 280. He will take on Mateusz Gamrot in a crucial lightweight scrap. The winner of that bout could possibly be next in line for a title shot.
Alexander Volkanovski gives his preference between fighting Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev
If given the option, Alexander Volkanovski would prefer to fight Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title instead of Islam Makhachev.
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, 'The Great' said that 'do Bronx' would be the better option as, despite being stripped of the title, Oliveira is still considered the champion by the masses:
"I'd say Charles would be the better opponent. People say stylistically, but obviously, there's a lot of hype around Charles. Everyone considers him the champ so if I beat him then everyone's going to consider me the champion."
Watch the full interview below:
Oliveira was stripped of the lightweight title at UFC 274 after missing weight by half a pound. Now, he and Makhachev will contest for the vacant lightweight title at UFC 280.