Alexander Volkanovski Names 3 Opponents He'd Fight After UFC 290
After a dominating performance against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290, Alexander Volkanovski is already looking ahead at his next opponent.
First and foremost, Volkanovski wants a lightweight rematch against Islam Makhachev, but he's not afraid to defend his featherweight strap against Ilia Topuria if it comes to it. The Aussie champ also remarked that he'd happily welcome Aljamain Sterling to featherweight if the opportunity came around.
Volkanovski discussed his potential opponents in an interview uploaded to his YouTube channel on July 10:
"I'll definitely still be fighting this year. I want that lightweight belt, everyone knows I want that rematch with Islam [Makhachev]. ...If not, we've obviously got Ilia [Topuria]. We did a little face off, everyone just keeps mentioning that blokes name, so yeah, beautiful, let's do it.
"...[Aljamain Sterling], that's another one. ...I'll definitely welcome him to the featherweights. I don't think he needs to go through anyone, he can go straight to me, and let's see if he takes the loss and stays [at featherweight], or takes the loss and tries to go back down to bantamweight, we'll see what happens."
READ: Aljamain Sterling: Sean O'Malley "Probably My Last Fight at Bantamweight"
Sterling has made it well known that his title defense against Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 in August may be his last at bantamweight.
"One [or] two. I think two [more fights at bantamweight] at the most," Sterling remarked in an interview with InsideFighting on April 11. "And then It'll be up to featherweight and we'll see how I do with these guys over there."
Given the proximity of UFC 292 to Makhachev's next scheduled title defense in October, it's likely we'll see Volkanovski make a second attempt at lightweight, or defend his belt against Topuria.
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