Current UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski picked up a major win on Saturday night, and it was followed by Aljamain Sterling and Henry Cejudo challenging him.
Volkanovski put the stamp on his rivalry with former 145-pound king Max Holloway during the UFC 276 co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. “The Great” put on arguably the best performance of his career, staying one step ahead of Holloway for five rounds.
In the end, Volkanovski swept the judges’ scorecards (50-45, 50-45, 50-45), earning his third decision victory over Blessed and further bolstering his featherweight GOAT claim.
Well, not everyone was impressed with The Great’s display inside the Octagon. Sterling, the UFC’s current bantamweight champion, took to Twitter after the match, tweeting: “My honest opinion…I think I’d take Volkanovski down pretty easily and submit him. #UFC276.”
A fan responded to the “Funk Master’s” claim, writing: “He would LITERALLY fuck you the f*** up. STOP IT!”
“Outside of my bad rehydration in the first Yan fight, who has ‘f*****’ me up? ” Sterling answered. “I’ll wait.”
Another fan agreed that Sterling could get it done, tweeting: “He’s right.” And the Funk Master is down to prove it, writing: “One way to find out!”
Volkanovski Told Sterling to ‘Settle Down’ After Hearing About the Funk Master’s Comment
Volkanovski was asked during the UFC 276 post-fight press conference about Sterling’s tweet. Although The Great praised Sterling for his recent title defense against Petr Yan at UFC 273, he told the 135-pound champ to “settle down.”
“Aljamain said that?” Volkanovski asked. “That’s alright. That’s okay, let him talk. That’s alright. He’s got his own division to hold on [to], you know what I mean?
“Credit to him, to fight someone like Petr Yan and get the win, but settle down.”
Volkanovski Also Recounted an Encounter He Had With Cejudo Backstage
Cejudo, the former bantamweight and flyweight champion, has called for a fight with Volkanovski several times. He wants to become the first fighter in UFC history to win three divisional belts and “Triple C” recently rejoined the USADA testing pool, meaning he plans to come out of retirement.
Cejudo was in attendance for UFC 276 and “Sugar” Sean O’Malley wasn’t the only fighter Triple C had a run-in with.
During the presser, Volkanovski shared his backstage interaction with Cejudo.
“He just said he wants to challenge me,” Volkanovski said. “He thinks he’s got what it takes. Man, I need challengers right, but I mean, they need to be big fights. And if people scream for it, we’ll see. You can never say never. Like obviously, he’s done some great things.
“He’s got work to do. I think it could make a big fight but you know, I don’t even know what’s going on. Look, I respect the guy. He can fight. Olympic wrestler, two-division champion — it’s impressive.
“So, we’ll see what happens.”
After the fight, Volkanovski also called for a lightweight title fight while speaking with UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. However, Volkanovski injured his right hand during the Holloway bout and it’s unclear the extent of the injury and how long The Great will be shelved for.
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Alex Volkanovski Reacts to Challenges From Current & Former UFC Champs