Reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski, who made a failed attempt to take the UFC lightweight championship belt from Islam Makhachev in February of this year, expects to take a rematch from the Russian at the UFC 300 anniversary tournament, which is tentatively scheduled to take place in April 2024.
“I think this fight makes a lot of sense for the UFC 300 tournament,” the Australian said while speaking to reporters in Sydney. “It would be great. If my hand gets raised at UFC 300 that’s the ideal scenario, but we’ll see what we can do. I think it’s one of the biggest fights that can be organized. I really believe in it. A lot of people want to see it again. The first fight was very competitive and I guarantee I’ll do my job next time.”
Before challenging Makhachev again, Volkanovski plans to make another title defense, this time against fifth-ranked Elijah Topuria in the division.
“It’s a very stacked division – there’s a lot of good talent in it, but I guess none of them are knocking on the door right now. Unless it’s Elijah Topuria, and I want to fight him. Others have probably had to work harder to get a title shot, but we’re starting to run out of contenders. He’s on the rise, undefeated, likes to talk, and has a lot of fans in Spain and Europe. People want to see that and I’m looking forward to taking that zero from him.”
After defeating Alex Volkanovski by unanimous decision at UFC 284 in Perth, the Russian will make his next title defense on Oct. 21 at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi against Brazilian Charles Oliveira, who he defeated a year ago to win the vacant championship belt.
Source: https://fighttime.ru/news/item/32609-aleks-volkanovski-garantiruet-pobedu-nad-islamom-makhachevym-na-ufc-300.html?rand=19907
