Alex Volkanovski says he wants the winner of Charles Oliveira vs Islam Makhachev as talks of an interim featherweight title emerge

By Harry Kettle - July 18, 2022

UFC featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski has reiterated his desire to fight for the UFC lightweight title.

Alexander Volkanovski

In recent weeks, Alex Volkanovski has taken his rightful place as the pound-for-pound king of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was able to leapfrog Kamaru Usman as a result of his dominant display against Max Holloway, cementing his status as perhaps the greatest featherweight of all-time.

‘The Great’ is an absolute marvel at 145 pounds and yet, while there’s still a lot of interest in seeing him defend the strap, many fans are intrigued by the possibility of the Australian heading up to lightweight.

One of the reasons why this is on everyone’s mind is because Volkanovski brought it up in the immediate aftermath of the Holloway win.

Now, after the announcement of a title fight at 155 pounds later this year, Volkanovski has made it crystal clear that he wants to fight the winner.

“I got the winner!!”

The bout in question will see former champion Charles Oliveira head to Abu Dhabi in order to battle Islam Makhachev with the vacant strap on the line.

The event will be UFC 280 and will go down on October 22, with Volkanovski currently planning on getting surgery for a hand injury he sustained against Holloway.

Josh Emmett and Yair Rodriguez are currently lining up with the hope of getting a crack at the champ but for now, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the air between both weight classes.

If the UFC things the time is right once we’ve established who the true man to beat is at lightweight, perhaps this is something they’re going to entertain.

What are your thoughts on the idea of Alex Volkanovski going up to lightweight? Do you believe he could win a second world title or is he more likely to remain at featherweight?