Alexander Volkanovski Has Already Planned His Next Fight After UFC 294
Alexander Volkanovski plans to defend his UFC featherweight title against Ilia Topuria in January 2024, even after making a short-notice challenge for the lightweight throne at UFC 294 on Oct 21.
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Speaking to journalist Marc Raimondi, "The Great" was flabbergasted that fans didn't think he could make a three-month turnaround to defend his belt:
"Yeah [I plan to fight Topuria in January]," Volkanovski explained. "I don't --- a lot of people are saying that [I won't do it] - I don't see how they think that I wouldn't do that. Well how long is it? It's over three months away, isn't it?
"...That's how I want to fight, every three months. I didn't even have to do a camp [for UFC 294]... I'm fresh mentally, physically going into this camp - going into this fight."
Volkanovski's original plan has been flipped on its head. At the UFC 293 media scrum on Sept 10, Volkanovski remarked that he expected Topuria first, and then he'll chase a rematch with Islam Makhachev, most likely in 2024:
"You've got the Ilia [Topuria] fight, that's always gonna be there," Volkanovski told 'TheMacLife'."You got that rematch that I want [with Makhachev]. I want to be active. Obviously Islam and Charles [Oliveira] are going at it soon, so I don't want to be waiting around. So I'll do early next year I think. ...I wanted three [fights] this year, but it's not looking likely."
Despite stepping in on short notice for UFC 294, the Makhachev fight surprisingly aligns with Volkanovski's desired schedule. If he can defeat Makhachev, followed by defending his title against Topuria, it could catapult Volkanovski into the 'greatest of all time' conversation, if he hasn't already earned that distinction.
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