It looks like Alexander Volkanovski likely won’t fight again until the end of the year.
The 35-year-old Australian boxer is confident he will be next in line to face the winner of the featherweight championship bout between Ilija Topuria and Max Holloway, scheduled for UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 26. Volkanovski has not competed since relinquishing the 145-pound belt after a second-round knockout loss to Topuria at UFC 298 on Feb. 17. Volkanovski had considered fighting at lightweight but appears to have ultimately rejected that option.
“It’s happening right now, so I can wait, or if I don’t want to wait, I can do something else, or I can just wait. UFC has made that clear, so of course I’m probably going to do that,” Volkanovski told Sky Sports New Zealand recently.
“I could have fought at lightweight. I think there are a lot of exciting fights there, but UFC doesn’t really like floating fights. If I want to go to lightweight, I’ll probably have to stay there. That’s my only option. Then I might miss out on the featherweight title shot. So I might have to wait. Just a couple more months. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Volkanovski had planned to take some time off after his last loss, but the timing of the Topuria vs. Holloway fight has altered his plans to get a title shot before the end of the year, but he’s not willing to take on just any fight to stay active.
“I told them I wanted to rest as much as I have and maybe play later in the year and they said maybe that will happen. [Topuria vs. Holloway]”I thought it would be a little earlier, but it ended up being a date where maybe I could have been back here,” Volkanovski said. “Everything’s probably going to be a couple of months later than I wanted, but at the same time, I can’t be active and fight anybody and wait for the title.”
“Is a fight against a featherweight contender the only thing that’s going to get me out of bed? That’s probably difficult. I love being active, but at the same time, I need the right fights. It’s easy to be active and get the right fights when you’re the champion, because you’re defending against the number one contender. It’s very easy to stay active and get important fights. But it doesn’t make any sense for me to take a fight just to keep myself busy.”
Volkanovski is 3-0 against Holloway but believes Holloway has the ability to dethrone Topuria.
“Who do I want to fight? Obviously Ilia is the better guy. I want that back. But at the end of the day, I want that belt back too,” Volkanovski said.
“So, who do you think will win? Probably Max. But again, it’s a tough match. Ilia has a good hold on Max and won’t be easily shaken. He’ll come forward and try for the finish throughout the match. I think Max is a bit too strong for Ilia though. But if Ilia beats him, he’ll have proven he’s got it. But either way, I’m going to take the power back from him.”
