Getty Dana White
UFC president Dana White isn’t against Alexander Volkanovski’s dream of earning two divisional titles.
White recently spoke with The Mac Life’s Oscar Willis and he was asked about the featherweight king. Volkanovski is scheduled for his fourth title defense. He’ll take on ex-145-pound champion Max Holloway in a trilogy match during the UFC 276 co-main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
And should he get past Holloway for a third time, “The Great” has shared his desire to fight for the 155-pound belt. And the UFC president is “down for whatever he wants.”
“So, Volkanovski is one of those guys who has earned the respect of everybody, I would say, by now,” White said via Sportskeeda.com. “You know, he’s got this Holloway fight that probably makes sense for him to do this and put this behind him. Then you don’t have to hear about it anymore, and that guy can do whatever he wants to do.
“I mean, if he wants to move up and challenge somebody at ’55 or whatever he wants to do, I’m down for whatever he wants.”
Volkanovski Believes His Featherweight Resume Is Good Enough to Avoid Climbing the Lightweight Ladder, Wants Immediate Title Fight
Volkanovski spoke with “Morning Kombat’s” Luke Thomas days after his last title defense. He dominated “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung during the UFC 273 main event on April 9, winning via fourth-round TKO.
At that point, then-lightweight champion Charles Oliveira was scheduled to fight Justin Gaethje at UFC 274. And The Great revealed his interest in fighting the winner. As many fight fans know, Oliveira was forced to vacate the belt after a botched weight cut, and although he defeated Gaethje via first-round submission, the championship remains vacant.
“I want this title fight,” Volkanovski said via CBS Sports. “I called for it because I think I earned it. We’re seeing guys get the chance at a second title for much less than what I’ve done. I don’t think I’ll waste my time unless it is for the belt.
“Obviously, I’ll talk to my team and see what they think but, I mean, when you’re doing stuff like that as well then you’re taking pay cuts for that. I think I’m in a position where I can at least ask for that. If it’s not this fight, maybe the next fight. But I believe I’m in a good position and I don’t think I need to try and climb the ladder with where I’m at. I’m undefeated at lightweight too, remember that. I’m defeated at middleweight.”
Volkanovski Said Featherweight Needs to Sort Itself Out, ‘I’ve Done My Part’
While speaking with Thomas, Volkanovski shared his thoughts on the state of featherweight contenders. In short, besides Holloway, Volkanovski said he wanted to see top-ranked combatants rise to the No. 1 spot by doing work inside the Octagon.
And he’s okay with making the division wait while that happens.
“If that division were doing their part and people were trying to take the No. 1 spot and someone who took out top contenders, Max probably wouldn’t get a trilogy straight away,” Volkanovski continued. “But because these guys are sort of sitting back and, I don’t know, trying to pick their fights and things like that, he was the only one who took out the No. 1 contenders and cemented himself as the No. 1 contender. If the other contenders were doing that and there was a clear No. 1 contender, or even No. 2, they would probably be in front of Max and everyone would be screaming their name.
“While this division sorts itself out, if they don’t do their job, they’re going to sit there and wait even longer. Obviously, I’m looking at this lightweight division. I’ve done my part now. You haven’t heard me talk about the lightweight division. People have asked me about it, but I’ve never said ‘give me that fight.’ I always said, ‘I plan on doing that in the near future.’ I want to wait for the right time. I’m the type of guy that you have to earn the opportunity to do something like that. I’ve had four title fights, four wins and three defenses.
“I’m in the position where I can start calling for this type of s***. That’s why I feel like that is definitely an option. I want three fights this year. I’m not going to sit there and wait for the division.”