Alexander Volkanovski Doesn’t See Himself Fighting for Lightweight Title Again

Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t have double champ aspirations for the time being. 

Volkanovski is scheduled to defend his featherweight title in a rematch against Diego Lopes (27-7) at UFC 325 on Jan. 31 in front of a home crowd at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia. A week before Volkanovski’s fight, Paddy Pimblett and Justin Gaethje will clash for the interim lightweight title at UFC 324 in Las Vegas. Pimblett recently said that if he defeats Gaethje and Volkanovski defends his title, the featherweight champion might eye a move up to lightweight to challenge him. 

However, Vokanovski revealed that he has no plans of going up to lightweight. While Volkanovski won’t turn down a lightweight title shot if offered, the Australian is honest enough to accept that he doesn’t deserve the shot right now. Volkanovski believes he will need two to three wins to make a legitimate case for a lightweight title shot. As Volkanovski doesn’t plan to fight for much longer, he doesn’t see himself fighting for the lightweight title.

Staying Realistic

“If it’s offered to me, of course, I’m gonna fight for the lightweight title,” Volkanovski said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “But as everyone knows, I’m pretty real with everything. Right now, it’s like, do I deserve a shot at the lightweight title? I know I don’t. I’m not planning to fight for another two to three years. For me to deserve another shot like that I’m gonna need another two to three wins. And then maybe I’m back in a position where I deserve a shot at that lightweight title. I don’t believe I deserve that [shot] right now. It’s not something that I’ve even thought of… That’s not something that I feel could be in the near future.”

Volkanovski (27-4) has previously made two failed lightweight title bids against Islam Makhachev in 2023. While Volkanovski lost a hard-fought decision in the first outing, he was knocked out by a head kick in the rematch. 

This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com

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