Volkanovski told Fox Sports Australia he could potentially move up himself next<\/a> if it meant at shot at Max Holloway\u2019s BMF title \u2013 should the Hawaiian great beat Charles Oliveira in April.<\/p>\n‘I could fit another six fights in!’ | 01:33<\/p>\n
The Wollongong slugger also tipped his featherweight division\u2019s two most likely title challengers, Evloev and Murphy, will likely now throw down for the right to face him \u2013 and tipped Russia\u2019s Evloev the man he expects to win.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Volk also suggested Brazilian Silva was not yet deserving of a shot at his UFC featherweight strap, despite having called for exactly that after defeating England\u2019s Arnold Allen at UFC 324 last weekend.<\/p>\n
Now days later, another UFC star has joined the list.<\/p>\n
Told of Tsarukyan\u2019s bold claim on Wednesday, and then asked if he would be willing to accommodate him, Volkanovski replied with a grin: \u201cYeah, I love challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he would obviously be a tough challenge if he can get down here.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would definitely be a tough challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
And as for the \u201cone axe kick \u2013 that\u2019s it\u201d claim?<\/p>\n
\u201cHe says he\u2019s going to axe kick, obviously he\u2019s going to want to wrestle,\u201d Volk continued, still smiling.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I like the guy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s hilarious.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat PR run he went on was incredible.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if we face off, my takedown defence is solid.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if we get that, I\u2019ll remind him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Volk breaks down Diego Lopes rematch | 11:28<\/p>\n
Asked who would be the toughest challenge on his list of potential contenders, Volkanovski listed Tsarukyan and Evloev, the hyped Russian star who is undefeated in all 19 professional appearances.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo with Movsar, even the wrestling side of things, I\u2019d love that,\u201d Volkanovski continued. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you talk about legacy, you\u2019ve got guys like Movsar undefeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously I\u2019ve got a job to do this weekend but later \u2026 Movsar, Lerone, they both have incredible records.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Arman if he wants to come down, yeah, that\u2019s a challenge too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like my takedown defence is fairly solid so that would be a fun one.\u201d<\/p>\n
And as for Silva also calling for next?<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought that was going to be a real challenge for him,\u201d he said of last weekend\u2019s Allen fight. \u201cAnd he passed it.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooked good in the later rounds as well, and that\u2019s what you want to see from a prospect.<\/p>\n
\u201cA guy that\u2019s going to be calculated in Arnold, who is quite fit as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Silva showing he has the cardio to get through against someone like that is quite promising.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut has he earned a title shot just yet? I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re going to get Mosvar and Lerone fighting, and that one makes the most sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially where their records are, and the resume they have.<\/p>\n
\u201cLegacy wise that looks great one for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Volkanovski also stressed he had not ruled out another shot at now reigning UFC lightweight champ Ilia Topuria, saying: \u201cWe\u2019ll see what happens from here.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether Ilia will be bouncing back — I think he said he would like mid year [against new interim champ Justin Gaethje].<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019ll see what happens. It\u2019s a stacked division, you\u2019ve got Arman as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cA couple of wins maybe I\u2019ll be back in that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Volk also opened up on his surprise list for future Cooking With Volk collaborators, which started when a journalist asked if he would be willing to work with Holloway \u2013 who has already beaten in three featherweight title bouts.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, 100 per cent,\u201d the champ stressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s good, man because I get along with everyone anyone, right?<\/p>\n
\u201cEven Islam [Makhachev], I\u2019m going to do a Cooking with Volk with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Ilia, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone, even if I have to face them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll do a Cooking with Volk with Lopes tomorrow if he wanted. I wouldn\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Classic Dan Hooker SOUNDS OFF on BSD | 05:03<\/p>\n
Volkanovski also said he was looking forward to having a massive title defence in his own backyard.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, for sure,\u201d he started. \u201cAnd I want to have a big moment here.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what I love about being here in Sydney.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I\u2019m travelling away, everyone can\u2019t be there live, they can\u2019t be in the arena and feel the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut here, I get to do that.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only have an exciting fight, but all my supporters, my family and friends \u2026 give them that feeling, that moment they\u2019re going to remember forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause while they still get those moments at home through the TV, there ain\u2019t nothing like it \u2026 especially when Land Down Under plays.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can only imagine what that is going to be like walking out.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I want them to feel that energy.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then having an opponent like Lopes, we\u2019re going to put on a show. I want to get my hand raised and give everyone that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
And as for how long the champ expects to keep going?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s how you get through camps,\u201d he explained. \u201cAnd I was able to get through this camp by making the right adjustments.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I am 37.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the intensity was still there.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe maybe pulled back the volume a little bit, and if you make those adjustments you can have a long career.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously it\u2019s all about the health as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I plan on taking minimal damage out there [against Lopes], having a quick turnaround and then we\u2019ll see what happens after that.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve seen a lot of people saying \u2018oh, this is going to be his last one\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd obviously I\u2019ve put that one to bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely not the right time \u2026 I\u2019ve still got a bit left in me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to be active.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause how much longer am I going to have? If I\u2019m going to be active, yeah, I could fit another six in.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019ll see where we go.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave minimal damage in this one and then mid-year. I expect to be a lot more active this year.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alexander Volkanovski has hit back at suggestions it would take only one axe kick from UFC lightweight Arman…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":438177,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,82],"class_list":["post-438176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=438176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438176\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/438177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=438176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=438176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=438176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
<\/p>\n