UFC lightweight Beneil Dariush might not like it, but the featherweight champ, Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski, is coming to the lightweight division. Volkanovski recently confirmed that he’s “locked in” as backup for Oliveira vs Makhachev at UFC 280.
This led Dariush, who believed he was the backup, to accuse Volkanovski of “playing games”. In this week’s episode of The MMA Hour, Volkanovski affirmed that he’s “not playing any games” and will be ready to step up if either Oliveira or Makhachev can’t fight.
Volkanovski Fires Back at Dariush: “I’m Not Playing Any Games”
“If he’s watching, I’m not playing any games. Maybe they did tell you you could be very early, whether this was a couple of months ago, whether his manager had that conversation saying that you will be, and he just assumed he was and hasn’t looked into it since, I don’t know. But my corners are being flown up.
I’m getting paid for this, all that type of stuff. It’s locked in. I’m not playing any games.” Volkanovski has been vying for the understudy gig for a while, waylaid by a broken hand he suffered defending his 145-pound title against Max Holloway at UFC 276. Volkanovski, however, will be fighting fit in time for the big night in Abu Dhabi.
“A lot of people didn’t think it was going to be doable, including the UFC doctor. But I was like, ‘No, we’ll make it happen.’”
Volkanovski credited his tenacity and audacity with his position at UFC 280. He also pointed out that the UFC has him lined up as a contingency plan in case, as happened last time Oliveira fought, either headliner misses weight and risks the event losing a title fight.
“I don’t think many people in my position would do what I’m doing. I didn’t want to just walk up and have everybody go, ‘What’s going on?’ I wanted them to know that, anything happens, I’m going to be there to save the day, or I’m going anyway. Either I’m going to have to step in, or I get to watch some good fights at UFC 280.
If anything, I didn’t tell them, ‘I want to wait, you should give me this.’ I told them, ‘I want to be backup.’ They didn’t tell me to do this, I told them.
If someone misses weight, I’m going to be in. What’s the point of doing that if that person that missed weight wins, and then the belt is still vacant?
I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s in the contract or what, I’m just focused on training, and I’m busting my ass. But I think it’s pretty clear that if someone misses weight, that opportunity is taken away from them.”
Do you think we’ll see Alexander Volkanovski in the Octagon at UFC 280? Let us know in the comments.
