During a recent press conference to promote UFC 276, Alexander Volkanovski discussed what might be next if he takes care of business against Max Holloway in their trilogy fight.
“Yeah, that’s why I’ve talked about this third fight with Max being a big one,” Volkanovski said. “After this one, I go do my thing. It’s gonna give me time to go at least have a chance to go for that double-champ status. That’s what I want. I’m gonna do what I plan on doing and that’s what I’m gonna call for."
That would involve a move to 155 pounds, where the title is currently vacant after Charles Oliveira lost the belt on the scales prior to defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 274. However, “Do Bronx” is still recognized as the top dog in the division despite that transgression, and Volkanovski believes that Brazilian is quite beatable.
“When I look at Oliveira, [he’s a] dangerous fighter,” Volkanovski said. “Dangerous fighter, a lot of people love watching him fight, exciting fights. But obviously, he showed that he can be beat. He showed that in his last few. Even if they were exciting, he was almost beat in every one of those times. The thing is with me, I ain’t gonna give him them opportunities. If I land big on someone, they ain’t gonna get the opportunity to land big on me.”
Of course, Volkanovski will have to defeat Holloway for a third time if his dreams of being a double-champ are to gain any traction. If he is victorious at UFC 276 on July 2, promotion president Dana White won’t stand in Volkanovski’s way.
“Volkanovski is one of those guys who has earned the respect of everybody by now,” White told The Mac Life. “It probably makes sense to do this [Holloway trilogy] and put this behind him, and you don’t have to hear about it anymore. That guy can do whatever he wants to do. If he wants to move up and challenge somebody at 155, I’m down for whatever he wants.”
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