During a recent press conference to promote UFC 276,
Alexander
Volkanovski discussed what might be next if he takes care of
business against Max
Holloway in their trilogy fight.
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“Yeah, that’s why I’ve talked about this third fight with Max being
a big one,” Volkanovski said. “After this one, I go do my thing.
It’s gonna give me time to go at least have a chance to go for that
double-champ status. That’s what I want. I’m gonna do what I plan
on doing and that’s what I’m gonna call for.
That would involve a move to 155 pounds, where the title is
currently vacant after Charles
Oliveira lost the belt on the scales prior to defeating
Justin
Gaethje at UFC 274. However, “Do Bronx” is still recognized as
the top dog in the division despite that transgression, and
Volkanovski believes that Brazilian is quite beatable.
“When I look at Oliveira, [he’s a] dangerous fighter,” Volkanovski
said. “Dangerous fighter, a lot of people love watching him fight,
exciting fights. But obviously, he showed that he can be beat. He
showed that in his last few. Even if they were exciting, he was
almost beat in every one of those times. The thing is with me, I
ain’t gonna give him them opportunities. If I land big on someone,
they ain’t gonna get the opportunity to land big on me.”
Of course, Volkanovski will have to defeat Holloway for a third
time if his dreams of being a double-champ are to gain any
traction. If he is victorious at UFC 276 on July 2, promotion
president Dana White won’t stand in Volkanovski’s way.
“Volkanovski is one of those guys who has earned the respect of
everybody by now,” White told The Mac Life. “It
probably makes sense to do this [Holloway trilogy] and put this
behind him, and you don’t have to hear about it anymore. That guy
can do whatever he wants to do. If he wants to move up and
challenge somebody at 155, I’m down for whatever he wants.”