Alexander Volkanovski explains why he didn’t take UFC lightweight matchup: “I need the right fights”
Former UFC Featherweight Champion, Alex Volkanovski, doesn’t plan to float around weight classes.
Volkanovski has had a rough go inside the Octagon in his last two outings, suffering brutal KO losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria. With that said, “The Great” remains in a spot where he’ll likely find himself in another 145-pound title fight.
While the former featherweight kingpin had options to potentially make the journey to the lightweight division, he doesn’t believe the UFC likes it when fighters flirt around with multiple weight classes.
Alexander Volkanovski Explains Sticking With Featherweight
During an interview with Sky Sport NZ, Alexander Volkanovski admitted he expected the UFC 308 featherweight title fight between Ilia Topuria and Max Holloway to take place sooner, as he might have been ready to compete again by late October.
“So, I was obviously aware of that earlier on,” Volkanovski said. “I told them I wanted the break as I’ve been having. So, I wanted to fight probably later in the year and they said they might be doing that, but I thought it would’ve been a little bit earlier, but it ended up being at a date where I was like, ‘Oh, I could’ve maybe come back here.'”
Volkanovski has been known to stay active inside the Octagon, but he realizes that at this stage of his career, the fights have to make sense.
“Look, I love to be active, but at the same time, I need the right fights,” Volkanovski said.
“The Great” also said that while a big fight at 155 pounds is enticing, he knows that the UFC doesn’t exactly appreciate when its athletes want to bounce around divisions.
“I could’ve maybe done a lightweight fight,” Volkanovski admitted. “I think there’s a lot of exciting fights there, but the UFC aren’t big fans of floating. They go, ‘Look, you wanna go to lightweight, you’re gonna have to probably stay there.’ That’s the only thing, and then I might lose that featherweight title shot.”
There is no doubt that Volkanovski will be keeping a close eye on the October 26th UFC 308 featherweight title showdown between Topuria and Holloway.
If you use any quotes in his article, please leave a H/T to BJPenn.com for the transcription of Sky Sport NZ’s interview.
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