Alexander Volkanovski is all in for a lightweight title fight … so long as he’s not messing up the 145 and 155 pound divisions by pursuing double-champ glory.
The featherweight champ Volkanovski just handled challenger Movsar Evloev with ease at UFC 333, TKOing the tough Russian wrestler in the second round of their Abu Dhabi main event. And while there’s plenty of guys jockeying to fight Justin Gaethje for the lightweight title — or fight for the vacant title if Gaethje retires — there’s a lot of interest in seeing “The Great” challenge for the 155 pound belt one more time.
Volkanovski talked about a potential Gaethje superfight leading up to UFC 333, and the fight came up again during the post-fight press conference. To his credit, Volk didn’t want to jump the line and push out other worthy contenders.
“I’m an honest guy, and I want it to be fair,” Volkanovski said. “I don’t wanna hold divisions up, but, I believe that we could do this and not hold the division up. Again, whether it’s both our retirement fights and just put it on the line, which would be cool, a little bit of a super fight. 38-year-olds just going at it and then they will leave it all and let all the young fellas sort themselves out. That’s something I would retire for.”
“So if they wanted to give me that opportunity, I’ll retire,” he continued. “Win or lose, retire, and then it’s vacate so I’m not holding the division up. If I win it and I vacate, right, then you got everyone else fighting anyway. So it’s something I would retire for. Otherwise, I’m just fighting, taking these fight as it goes.”
Asked if he’d fight Arman Tsarukyan for the vacant belt if Justin Gaethje retired and vacated, Volk said, “Of course, yeah. 100%. Definitely..”
“I’ve always been the guy that was like, ‘You need to earn it.’ I believe I’ve earned it, but at the same time, there’s so many people in that division that earned it as well. So if I can do this and not hold the division up, I’d love it. You know? Let’s do it, 100%. And that’ll be a great fight.”
