Dana White pulls plug on featherweight title fight at UFC 243

Many fans were hoping to see Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski get the opportunity to challenge Max Holloway for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 243 this October in Melbourne, Australia. Unfortunately, UFC President Dana White says that won’t be happen.

The UFC boss shared this unfortunate news on Submission Radio. He explained that Max Holloway, who just fought at UFC 240 in late July, will be unable to make the featherweight limit in time for the October card in Melbourne.

“Yeah, no, that’s not happening,” White told Submission Radio of a Max Holloway vs. Alex Volkanovski fight at UFC 243 (h/t MMA Fighting). “I don’t think that Max could turn around and cut the weight again that fast.

“So, I don’t want to put him in that type of situation.”

This news is bound to sting or Alex Volkanovski, who seemingly earned a featherweight title shot with a recent decision defeat of Jose Aldo, but was then passed up for former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Volkanovski showed up in Edmonton, Alberta — the scene of Holloway and Edgar’s fight — and made weight as a back-up fighter, dispelling any doubts that he was healthy enough to fight for the title at that time.

The expectation has always been that Volkanovski will get the next crack at Holloway, but the widespread hope was that it would happen at UFC 243 on the Australian’s home turf. The card is considered the biggest in the history of Australian MMA.

Unfortunately, as Dana White says, that’s not happening.

The good news is that UFC 243 will still be anchored by a blockbuster middleweight title fight between Australian undisputed champion Robert Whittaker and Kiwi interim champion Israel Adesanya.

Do you think Dana White should have scheduled a Max Holloway vs. Alex Volkanovski title fight for UFC 243?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/15/2019.