Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski hopes to truly earn his nickname by becoming a UFC double champion. With the featherweight division sealed following his third win over Max Holloway, Volkanovski plans on moving up to lightweight to take on whoever holds the belt there. The currently vacant lightweight title will be decided at UFC 280 when Charles Oliveira faces Islam Makhachev, and Volkanovski told The MMA Hour that he hopes to face the former.
“At the end of the day, I just want the belt. What do you think the bigger fight is? I think the bigger fight is definitely Charles Oliveira.
Volkanovski Crosses Fingers for Oliveira at UFC 280: “Charles is definitely a bigger fight”
I think he’s got so much hype on him. We know it’s going to be an exciting fight, he’s so exciting to watch. There’s a reason he’s so exciting to watch.
Obviously — this isn’t a shot at him, I’ve got a lot of respect for him, but I think a lot of people miss that — they miss the fact that he takes damage. He loses a good portion of these big, exciting fights. That’s why they’re exciting. But yeah, it’s very fun. A lot of people are hyping him up, and again, I want big fights. I think Charles is definitely a bigger fight.”
That’s not to say that Volkanovski won’t take on Makhachev, a surging lightweight prospect and protege to arguably the greatest lightweight of all time in Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“If Islam has that title, I’ll fight Islam for that title. It doesn’t matter who it is, I’ll do whatever.
They both have big challenges. They both have different challenges and big challenges, and that’s excites me too. A nice, big challenge, because again, I love when people doubt me. I love being the underdog, and it might be awhile until I’m an underdog in my division. But moving up, there’s going to be a lot of people that think it can’t be done, and I’m going to show them that it can.”
Both potential lightweight champions offer a significant threat on the ground, albeit in very different ways. Charles Oliveira’s jiu-jitsu is so feared that he’s willing to endure a knockdown just to get onto his back. Islam Makhachev’s brutal sambo-based wrestling echoes Khabib’s habit of “mauling” opponents into early finishes. Alexander Volkanovski, thus far, has mostly faced down elite strikers in the UFC featherweight division.
Although he boasts a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Volkanovski has yet to show off any significant grappling prowess in the UFC. How the featherweight champ – who has not lost a fight since 2013 – will measure up against either of the lightweight division’s most lethal grapplers is a fascinating proposition.
Who do you see winning Volkanovski vs Oliveira? Let us know in the comments.
