Alex Volkanovski says he will be at UFC 240 ‘on weight ready to fill in’

After Alex Volkanovski beat Jose Aldo at UFC 237, he along with many others expected he would the next title shot. Yet, that was not the case. Instead, the Aussie was passed over as Frankie Edgar will next face Max Holloway at UFC 240 for the featherweight title.

Obviously, this was disappointing news for the 30-year-old, but he says he will make the trip to Edmonton, Alberta to be on hand for the fight.

“I always try and stay positive in whatever situation. Obviously, I was dirty on it. Whether that decision was made before [Aldo and I] even fought — it seems to be — but maybe it wasn’t,” Volkanovski said on BJPENN.com Radio. “I don’t know what it is. But at the same time, I was expecting a fight-related issue anyway. They can fight and then I fight [for the title] before the year’s out.

“I’ve got a couple of goals that I want to do before the year’s out and that’s one more fight,” he continued. “I always want at least three fights within the 12 months. And, I want that belt, so I can still tick those goals off of my list for 2019. We’ll wait and see what happens. But hey, I’m staying ready. I’m here training. I’m pretty much in camp so I’m going to be going to Canada, and I’ll be ringside watching. If someone’s injured, I’ll be on weight ready to fill in.”

Alex Volkanovski is staying ready

Alex Volkanovski is upset he is not fighting Max Holloway at UFC 240. But, he remains adamant that he is training for the fight. He has told the UFC he will be ready to step in on short notice if something happens to either Holloway or Edgar.

“My manager obviously told him like, ‘What’s going on here?’ But it is what it is, and we just eventually told them, ‘Look, we’ll stay ready. If there’s an injury, we’re going to fill in,'” Volkanovski said. “I’m healthy all year round. I’m always fight-fit all year round, and my weight’s pretty good all year round, so I’ll go in there prepared. If someone is injured, they’re drawing the short straw, because then they’re going to have a harder matchup in me.”

Regardless, Alex Volkanovski just wants to fight and plans on fighting for the title by year’s end anyway. If it happens to be at UFC 240 then that would be perfect for him, if not he would like it to be as the co-main event to Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker’s title fight at UFC 243 in Australia.

Do you think Alex Volkanovski will be the champion by the end of the year?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 6/26/2019.