It has been almost a decade since Alexander Volkanovski fought in the featherweight division. After having held the UFC featherweight title for over three years, he lost it to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 earlier this year. However, the Aussie fighter wanted to switch waits but couldn’t do so because of the UFC.
Speaking to Sky Sports NZ recently, the 35-year-old fighter revealed that UFC does really entertain floating between weight divisions. He added that the official told him he would lose his featherweight title if he went to the lightweight division. Volkanovski said,
“I could’ve maybe done a lightweight fight, I think there’s a lot of exciting fights there, but the UFC aren’t big fans of floating (between the weight divisions), they’d go, look, ‘You wanna go to lightweight you’re gonna have to stay there,’ and then I might lose that featherweight title shot. It’s only a couple of months, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
It’s not that Volkanovski didn’t switch weights in his almost eight-year-long UFC career. Two of his three losses in the octagon came against Islam Makhachev, the UFC lightweight champion. Certainly, that could have been because he wasn’t actively fighting in the lightweight division, but if he switches, it will be interesting to see the results.
Alexander Volkanovski Still Eying For UFC Featherweight Title
Ahead of Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway’s bout at UFC 308 for the featherweight title, former champion Volkanovski left fans and experts in a nutshell with some shocking comments. He revealed his willingness to have a rematch with Topuria for the featherweight title, but the UFC denied him the opportunity in 2024.
However, that doesn’t mean the end of the road for Volkanovski in the featherweight division. He said that he might get a title shot later in 2025.
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“Everything is probably going to be pushed back a couple of months further than I would’ve liked but at the same time, I can’t be active and just fight anybody or I can wait for the title. What gets me out of bed, just a contender at featherweight is probably gonna be hard.”
Volkanovski added that he could weight for the title fight and wouldn’t fight just anybody. He also hinted at fighting the winner of Topuria vs. Holloway for the UFC featherweight championship. However, it will be really intriguing to see if the Aussie fighter again gets a title shot in the octagon.
Also Read: Irritated by Hasbulla, Alexander Volkanovski Calls For An Immediate Rematch
