Dana White has revealed his ideal timeline for a rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev.
Volkanovski dared to be great against Makhachev, but he came up short. With that said, some people thought the featherweight champion should have had his hand raised at UFC 284. ‘The Great’ has been vocal about wanting a rematch, and the UFC president is interested.
During the UFC Vegas 70 post-fight press conference, White was asked about the potential rematch. He had this to say:
“Now you have Yair vs. Volkanovski. We’ll see what happens with Islam and where he ends up fighting next. You have to do that fight [Yair vs. Volkanovski]. The guy came out and absolutely dominated a stud that night and then you have the rematch after they both fight again. You could not have a better result.”
Makhachev won by unanimous decision with scorecards of 49-46 and 48-47 x2. Volkanovski dominated the fifth round, but the reigning lightweight champion used his grappling skills to rack up control time. Before getting another chance at the 155-pound title, ‘The Great’ will likely defend his featherweight throne against interim champion Yair Rodriguez, who looked phenomenal in the UFC 284 co-main event.
Yair Rodriguez submits Josh Emmett to claim interim featherweight gold 😤 #UFC284 pic.twitter.com/96CEpFEhh4
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) February 12, 2023
Dana White says his plan for the Alexander Volkanovski vs. Islam Makhachev rematch is not guaranteed
Islam Makhachev will be taking time off during the month-long religious holiday of Ramadan. Meanwhile, Yair Rodriguez has earned the right to compete for the undisputed featherweight title. Although Dana White agrees with Rodriguez vs. Alexander Volkanovski being next, he knows more than anyone that things change quickly in MMA.
The UFC president had this to say during the UFC Vegas 70 press conference:
“We didn’t make any fights yet. There are a lot of different things that play out when making these fights. Timing, injuries, personal stuff, whatever it might be, but yeah, to me, the fight that makes sense is we make Yair vs. Volkanovski, Islam vs. somebody, whenever that happens, and then you do the rematch.”
On May 6, Beneil Dariush and Charles Oliveira go toe-to-toe with the possibility of determining the number one lightweight contender. Therefore, Makhachev might take on the winner of Dariush vs. Oliveira and then fight Volkanovski for the second time, assuming ‘The Great’ can beat Rodriguez. There’s also a chance the featherweight champion doesn’t get another opportunity to defeat the Russian lightweight king.
Watch Dana White discuss a rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev below:
Dana White says it makes sense to do Volkanovski/Yair first and Islam versus a contender and then do the rematch. pic.twitter.com/KffK0ozCmS
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) February 26, 2023
