Daniel Cormier Turns Down Immediate Rematch Between Volkanovski and Makhachev: ‘He Won The Fight’

Daniel Cormier doesn't think Alexander Volkanovski should receive an immediate rematch for the UFC lightweight championship.

Daniel Cormier
Daniel Cormier (Left) and Alexander Volkanovski/Islam Makhachev (Right)(Images via Instagram @DC_MMA and @AlexVolkanovski)

Daniel Cormier isn’t interested in Alexander Volkanovski getting an immediate rematch against Islam Makhachev. 

Despite his valiant effort, Volkanovski came up short in his attempt to become a two-division champion at UFC 284. There are people that believe ‘The Great’ should have been awarded the decision, raising questions about a potential immediate rematch. During an episode of DC&RC, Cormier turned down the idea by saying: 

“I don’t necessarily know if I need to see a rematch right away. I think what Alexander Volkanovski did was good. I don’t know if Islam needs to run it back right now because the reality is he won the fight.”

In the aftermath of UFC 284, Volkanovski has already stated he’s pursuing a rematch against Makhachev. It’s unclear if the UFC is intrigued, especially considering Yair Rodriguez is waiting for ‘The Great’ after winning the interim featherweight title. The Australian world champion does have a small chance of securing an immediate rematch because the lightweight division lacks a clear number-one contender. 

Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush are expected to determine who gets the next 155-pound title shot in May. As a result, Makhachev would have to fight Dustin Poirier or the winner between Rafael Fiziev and Justin Gaethje to avoid being sidelined for at least six months. The Russian could avoid that decision by booking another fight against Volkanovski soon. 

Watch Daniel Cormier discuss the UFC 284 main event below:

Daniel Cormier praises Alexander Volkanovski, understands why he would remain the number one P4P fighter

The UFC marketed the UFC 284 main event as a determining factor for the number one pound-for-pound fighter. Although Islam Makhachev defeated the reigning P4P king Alexander Volkanovski, Makhachev remained at the number two ranking

Despite being close friends with Makhachev, Daniel Cormier respected the UFC’s decision to keep the rankings the same. He had this to say on DC&RC:

“There’s a world in which, at the end of this, Volkanovski could still be the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world because pound-for-pound says, does your fighting style translate between weight classes? It showed on Saturday that his fighting style does translate between weight classes.”

Later in the episode, Cormier praised Volkanovski by saying:

“People always seem to want to discredit Alexander Volkanovski. Not anymore… This guy has more belief in himself than any fighter I’ve seen in a really long time, and he should because he has the fighting ability to compete against anyone…”

Volkanovski silenced all the doubters at UFC 284, but he still didn’t get the job done. Meanwhile, Makhachev isn’t getting the credit he deserves. The Russian lightweight champion took a risky fight in enemy territory and emerged victorious, extending his win streak to twelve.

Published on February 14, 2023 at 11:34 pm
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