Alexander Volkanovski has picked off every former UFC featherweight champion. Except one.
Volkanovski, the promotion’s reigning featherweight titleholder, has so far dispatched two other 145-pound champions, including Jose Aldo and Max Holloway on three separate occasions. While those victories and his reign over the last five years have solidified ‘The Great’ as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters alive, he does have one glaring regret; never getting the opportunity to pick off two-division titleholder Conor McGregor.
Appearing on The MMA Fan Podcast, Volkanovski was asked who we would choose to compete against if he could go back in time and fight anyone in their prime. Unsurprisingly, Volkanovski went with McGregor, the only former featherweight champion he has not shared the Octagon with.
“It’s pretty easy for me. I’d say Conor McGregor because he was in featherweight,” Volkanovski said. “Yeah, he was a featherweight. We’ve got to remember the champions. I’ve beat every other champion in the featherweight division. The only champion I haven’t fought in the featherweight division is Conor McGregor. And Conor McGregor in his prime, in the featherweight division, would be the all-time. I’m sure everyone would want to see that right now.
“If we could make that happen right now. Somehow get prime Conor vs. prime Volk, it would be pretty special. Everyone’s going to talk about the money and that’s why you only want that fight,” Volkanovski continued. “Yeah, of course. There’s money at the end of the circus around it. The hype and all of that, but you talk about legacy. Then I would have beaten every other featherweight champion and I plan on having the most defenses as well. It’s going to be a pretty crazy legacy. Mine anyway, but to add Conor to that featherweight list as well would have been great.”
Alexander Volkanovski is Gearing Up For a Featherweight Unification Bout During International Fight Week
Instead of dreaming about a fantasy matchup with 2015 Conor McGregor, Volkanovski is busy preparing for a very real threat to his lengthy title reign as he is set to square off with reigning interim featherweight champ Yair Rodriguez. The two 145-pound superstars will unify their respective titles on July 8 when the promotion returns to T-Mobile Arena for UFC 290.
Volkanovski enters the bout 12-1 under the UFC banner, the lone loss coming against lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284, the same night Yair Rodriguez captured the interim title with a second-round submission of Josh Emmett.
As for Conor McGregor, the Irish icon is expected to make his long-awaited return to the Octagon later this year for a scrap with lightweight standout ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler. Before they strap on the four-ounce gloves, the pair will coach opposite one another on the 31st season of The Ultimate Fighter. The season premiere airs on ESPN on May 30.
