Alexander Volkanovski names 2 potential challengers following UFC 314 title win

Alexander Volkanovski has two names in mind for the first title defense of his second UFC Featherweight Championship reign.

Volkanovski became a two-time UFC featherweight titleholder when he defeated Diego Lopes this past Saturday night. The bout headlined UFC 314 in Miami. Ilia Topuria vacated the 145-pound gold, which is why Volkanovski vs. Lopes was contested for the title. Volkanovski regained the featherweight championship via unanimous decision.

Now that he’s back to being on top of the 145-pound mountain, Volkanovski is looking ahead at potential challengers.

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Volkanovski Picks Two Possible Contenders

In a chat with reporters during the UFC 314 post-fight press conference, Alexander Volkanovski discussed who could receive a title opportunity. The newly minted UFC Featherweight Champion said that Yair Rodriguez and Movsar Evloev are worthy of title contention (via MMAJunkie).

“Yair was saying he wants the title shot,” Volkanovski said. “He’s a good dude. I like him a lot. If the UFC want to give it to him, I’m not going to stop that for him, but yeah, if I’d be honest, before that fight, I don’t think he’d be getting the shot. Now that he’s calling it, I’m not going to be the one saying no. I’m going to leave everything to the UFC. Obviously you’ve got Mosvar, he’s undefeated, and I would love to take that zero. We got to see what the UFC says.”

Rodriguez also competed on the UFC 314 card. He welcomed former two-division Bellator champion Patricio “Pitbull” Freire to the UFC. Rodriguez proved to be too elusive for Freire, and he scored the win via unanimous decision.

Evloev is undefeated and his most recent win was against former UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamian Sterling. Rumors were swirling regarding a potential fight between Evloev and Aaron Pico, but during the UFC 314 broadcast, Joe Rogan claimed he heard that Evloev is out of that conversation.