"Pretty much promised to me" - Alexander Volkanovski opens up on potential opponents for newly announced UFC 312 in Sydney
Alexander Volkanovski's next fight will be at UFC 312 on Feb. 9 in Sydney, Australia. Moreover, 'The Great' revealed that his bout will be for the undisputed featherweight championship, which is currently set to be defended by Ilia Topuria against Max Holloway at UFC 308.
Volkanovski claims he was promised an immediate title shot following his crushing loss to Topuria at UFC 298, which cost him his 145-pound belt. Now, he seems primed to face the winner of the upcoming Topuria vs. Holloway matchup.
"I plan on doing my part to bring the biggest fight here. Fighting for the title, that is what is pretty much promised to me, and February looks like the perfect date for that. I'll be facing the winner out of Ilia [Topuria] and Max [Holloway]. Quite positively I can guarantee that."
Despite asserting that he will fight for the undisputed title next, Volkanovski is also open to an interim featherweight title bout with streaking Brazilian finisher Diego Lopes if anything were to derail a bout with the UFC 308 main event winner.
"You got injuries that could get in the way, other divisions for Max, so that could mean maybe an interim title [fight], which is fine. Again, anything with gold with it, I'll be happy, so that'll just lock me in for whoever it is that wins that [UFC 308 featherweight title fight] anyway. So even if it's interim, that's still a big one. I'd say it'd be an exciting one with [Diego] Lopes."
Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below:
The UFC has not yet confirmed Volkanovski's next fight, but the former champion has been adamant about regaining his belt.
Alexander Volkanovski hasn't been on the best run of form
Dominance often comes to mind when evaluating Alexander Volkanovski as a fighter. However, the former No.1 pound-for-pound king's recent outings in the octagon haven't yielded the best results. He is currently 1-3 in his last four fights.
Furthermore, he is on a two-fight losing streak, having been knocked out in back-to-back fights with Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev. Before those losses, he TKO'd Yair Rodriguez. Before that though, he had lost a controversial unanimous decision to Makhachev in the pair's first encounter.
He will look to return to winning ways at UFC 312 next year.