Alexander Volkanovski still has champ-champ status in his sights.
It was announced last month that Volkanovski will face Diego Lopes in a rematch at UFC 325 on February 1.
The essential event in Sydney will likely be the featherweight champion’s first defense of the belt after he claimed the vacant title earlier this yr.
Following criticism concerning the matchup, Lopes’ manager explained why he got the fight over other contenders whom many perceive to be more worthy of a shot on the champion.
‘The Great’ can have several potential challengers waiting in line for him, but he still has goals that he wants to perform outside of the 145 pound division.
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Alexander Volkanovski believes two title defenses could set him up for champ-champ clash
In a recent interview with 10 News, Alexander Volkanovski previewed his upcoming rematch with Diego Lopes at UFC 325.
‘The Great’ previously moved as much as lightweight on two occasions during his first reign because the featherweight champion.
Volkanovski was defeated by Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 after earning this chance by defeating most of the top contenders in his division.
A second loss to Makhachev on short notice at UFC 294 meant that he’d likely be staying at his natural home of featherweight for the foreseeable future.
Nevertheless, when asked concerning the goals he still wants to perform, Volkanovski spoke about wanting to right some wrongs.
The champion said that while he’s not able to call for one more lightweight title shot straight away, he believes that making two successful title defenses next yr could open this chance up.
“Being a champion is a responsibility and I take that seriously,” Volkanovski stated. “I do know I’ve got guys in my division and I don’t wish to delay the division so I’m gonna do what I want to do and then you definately never know, perhaps after what I’ve said I plan on doing in Sydney, February 1, go try this after which perhaps have the turnaround after which get one other victory over an undefeated guy, perhaps that, I believe that’s fair enough to be calling for perhaps a champ-champ fight then.”
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Alexander Volkanovski provides an update on when he plans to retire
Many are more likely to keep off against Alexander Volkanovski’s comments as a consequence of the road of viable title challengers at each featherweight and light-weight.
At 37 years old, it doesn’t appear that ‘The Great’ could have an excessive amount of time left to try to tick off a few of those remaining boxes on his bucket list.
It’s been rumored in recent weeks that UFC 325 could even be the date that Volkanovski is targeting for his last dance.
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He disputed this when breaking the matchup down in his recent interview with 10 News.
“I’m seeing that all over the place as well. I don’t know where that got here from. No, it hasn’t been planned to be my last fight. So, you don’t must worry about that. I believe you’re just gonna take it because it goes from here on but there’s definitely no plans of that.”
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