UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t mind sitting back and letting his fellow 145-pounders compete for an interim title. While Volkanovski is sidelined by a hand injury, it looks all but certain that the UFC will book an interim title fight for Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett. Appearing on The MMA Hour, Volkanovski explained why it just makes his next featherweight defense even bigger.
“To be honest, I don’t mind the idea while I’m sitting here. There’s no clear — for that No. 1 contender, right? Let them fight for that No. 1 contender, because I think they both deserve it. They’re both in a position where they could get a shot. Are they screaming out where it needs to be them before everyone?
Volkanovski Happy To Let UFC Book Interim FW Title Fight
No, not really. So let them fight for that No. 1 contender. If it’s for the interim belt and then we’ll fight, sweet. Because like I told you, I’m not lying when I say I want to be active. They can go do that, I’ll go do my thing, and I’m telling you, a couple months after that, get me back in there, I’ll do it.
Perfect world for me, lightweight title early next year, and then if they do this interim thing, if that happens, it will just make for a bigger fight anyway, so I don’t mind. And then you’ve got a clear No. 1 guy. Everyone’s going to be screaming their name, whoever wins between Josh Emmett and Rodriguez. And then they can both say they’re fighting for a belt, they can go there, and then when we fight it’s another big fight. So I don’t mind the idea, to be honest.”
Volkanovski, unlike other reigning champions like Deiveson Figueiredo and Francis Ngannou, doesn’t feel like an interim fight waters down his own title. “No, why does that water down my title?
I don’t think it does at all. Is anyone going to say that they’re the real champ? I don’t think so. Everyone’s going to look at me as the real champ either way. And if for some reason it does water it down and all of a sudden this guy’s getting all of this hype, it just makes my next fight even bigger with them.
So either way, I’m still going to get the championship money, still getting the pay-per-views, so it doesn’t matter. If they want to hype up the fight however they want to do it, whatever. At the end of the day, I know I’m champ and everyone else does too.”
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