Alexander Volkanovski hints at impending fight booking: “January sounds good to me!”

By Josh Evanoff - September 26, 2023

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will seemingly return early next year.

Alexander Volkanovski and UFC 5

‘The Great’ has been out of action since a title defense against Yair Rodriguez in July at UFC 290. There, Alexander Volkanovski scored a third-round stoppage victory over ‘El Pantera’. That was a massive win for the champion, as he was coming off a controversial loss to Islam Makhachev in February.

Following the victory earlier this summer, Alexander Volkanovski admitted that he wasn’t sure who was next. Bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling showed interest in moving up but later lost his title to Sean O’Malley. The Australian wanted to fight Islam Makhachev at lightweight, but he was later booked against Charles Oliveira for October.

While his next opponent isn’t yet confirmed, Alexander Volkanovski did take to social media earlier today. On X, the featherweight champion teased that he would return in January. No event was named, but the titleholder seems dead-set on returning in early 2024.

RELATED: COLBY COVINGTON SAYS NO ONE AT WELTERWEIGHT IS “DESERVING” OF A TITLE SHOT, EYES FIRST TITLE DEFENSE AGAINST ISLAM MAKHACHEV

Alexander Volkanovski

January sounds good to me!” – Volkanovski wrote on social media earlier today hinting at a 2024 return.

While it wasn’t his most anticipated fight, Alexander Volkanovski has long been linked to Ilia Topuria. For his part, ‘El Matador’ is coming off a dominant decision win over Josh Emmett earlier this summer. Following the win, he called out the featherweight champion.

At the time, Alexander Volkanovski was admittedly lukewarm on the callout, instead eyeing a move to lightweight. However, with Makhachev booked, he instead turned his attention to Topuria. As of now, it’s not known if the fight will happen next, but it ticks all the boxes.

What do you make of this news? Who do you want to see Volkanovski fight in his return to the cage?

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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Alex Volkanovski UFC