"You have enough time to make that happen" - Coach answers if Alexander Volkanovski will fight for lightweight belt at UFC Perth

Frank Hickman, coach of Alexander Volkanovski, believes there is certainly enough time for the UFC to book 'The Great' to either defend his featherweight title or fight for the 155lb belt at the newly announced UFC 284 held in Perth, Australia next year.

The UFC broke the news this week that they are heading back down under for another numbered pay-per-view in Australia. Following on from the success of UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold in 2018, the UFC will be returning to the city of Perth for the first time in four years.

AUSTRALIA, IT’S BEEN TOO LONG 🇦🇺

We’ll see you in Perth on Feb 12th for #UFC284!

🛫🎟 Visit UFC.com/Perth to register for pre-sale tickets or book your Travel Package right now! https://t.co/N3V0no1Q4w

Although there is yet to be any official fight announcement for the card, Australian MMA fans will likely hope home nation heroes such as Robert Whittaker and Alexander Volkanovski feature on the card.

In the latest episode of Submission Radio, Frank Hickman has backed Volkanovski to be on the card in some capacity:

"It's at 145lb awesome, if it's at 155lb, f**k, even better! If you look at the timeline, October, November, December and January. You've got three and a half, four months to book something and make it happen. Man, that's a business call and the UFC will have to sit down and evaluate best possible outcome and scenarios. You have enough time to make that happen."

Volkanovski has often stated his desire to take the step up to 155lbs and become a two-division champion. 'The Great' is currently in Abu Dhabi for UFC 280 as the stand-in for the main-event between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev but could well fight the winner at UFC Perth.

Catch the latest episode here:

Chael Sonnen believes Alexander Volkanovski should replace Charles Oliveira if he misses weight at UFC 280

Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on UFC 280's main-event and the prospect of Alexander Volkanovski having to fill-in in some capacity.

According to Sonnen, if 'Do Bronx' was to miss weight for a second title fight in a row, like he did at UFC 274, it would be better for the UFC to replace him with 'The Great'. 'The American Gangster' stated that he doesn't want to see another fight where only one person can become champion.

It’s Official, I’m the back up fighter for the Light Weight title!
See you all in Abu Dhabi 👊 #UFC280

youtu.be/Sq8p0Qg2vbs

Oliveira was controversially stripped of the lightweight title for missing weight by half a pound when he was set to face Justin Gaethje at UFC 274. The bout went ahead with only 'The Highlight' eligible to win the belt, but Oliveira secured the victory in the first round, meaning the title remained vacant.

In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Sonnen opined that fans would prefer a bout that can officially crown a champion when it's over:

"If Charles misses weight by half a pound, would you the audience prefer that Charles vs. Islam was scrapped and that Alexander Volkanovski instead fights Islam and you're guaranteed to have a world champion when the night is over?"

Catch Sonnen's latest video here: