Alexander Volkanovski would embrace his inner meme if it meant fighting Conor McGregor.
The former UFC Featherweight Champion lost his title earlier this year to Ilia Topuria in a turn of events that could have been all avoided. Going 1-1 to begin last year, Volkanovski rolled the dice and challenged Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in a rematch from their UFC 284 fight which was a five-round decision win for Makhachev.
The second time around, Volkanovski would step up on less than two weeks notice to fight the full-camped champion. Volkanovski had fought three rounds previously that summer against Yair Rodriguez.
At UFC 294, Alexander “The Great” had more than he could handle, being knocked out by Makhachev in the very first round. Volkanovski didn’t learn his lesson and made a quick turnaround for a featherweight title defense, costing him his title by TKO versus the aforementioned Topuria four months after the fact.
There’s no been no shortage of memes since then of Volkanovski hilariously stepping up on short notice for whatever fight is available, even if that means going up to heavyweight against Jon Jones or something more from the realm of reality, a short-notice fight with Conor McGregor perhaps?
Volkanovski’s Second Thoughts On Fighting Short-Notice
The fighting Irish superstar returns at UFC 303 where he is scheduled to face former Bellator Champion Michael Chandler on June 29th. Volkanovski’s not looking to get back to action anytime soon, but he might change his mind for a potential payday against McGregor – that is, if the UFC opportunity presented itself to him.
“I’ve told myself I wouldn’t do it, but to capitalize on a massive opportunity like that…” Volkanovski started off telling The AllStar. “Lightweight, because I know that featherweight’s still going to be there. Against Conor McGregor? Yeah, you probably would… ‘Would you fight if something happened…’ I would go, ‘No’. [Now that] you just put that sort of scenario there, and I’m like, you know what? Maybe I will.
“Maybe before I come to Thailand, did a bit of training, I probably would have gone, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. I’m not even thinking of that. But, now I’m starting to sort of get my head there.”
Storylines Between Volk & McGregor? (If Any)
UFC 303 is quickly approaching and only a few stars have thrown their name in the hat to potentially be the main event’s back-up fighter. UFC Lightweight Dan Hooker was one of them earlier this year in contrast to perennial featherweight Volkanovski.
Prior to UFC 298, Volkanovski was the only champion at the 145lb weight class that McGregor had not fought as “The Notorious” cleared both Jose Aldo and Max Holloway years ago. With paths uncrossed, McGregor still pokes fun at Volkanovski every now and then, with the former champ catching a stray from McGregor on a recent stream.
😂 Conor Mcgregor on Usman:
"F**k him."Conor Mcgregor on Topuria:
"F**k him."Conor Mcgregor on Volkanovski:
"F**k him as well."🎥 @Duelbits pic.twitter.com/SZSTvspbct
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) May 20, 2024
Volkanovski made sure to return the favor to McGregor with a shot of his own.
“End of June, so that is soon. I mean, you never know, right? I don’t mind Connor, but I don’t think even me now, like, I’m not that fit at the moment, but I still think I outlast Conor so, he’s not gonna like that,” Volkanovski said with a laugh.
“That’s alright, that’s it,” Volkanovski said of McGregor’s recent diss to him. “Conor’s great at what he does. He’s entertainer. You mentioned other names, someone mentioned my name. I’m expecting some shots being thrown at me, you know what I mean? And if he didn’t, I’d be like, oh, well, okay. I would actually be surprised if he did it. But, it’s entertaining. I take the piss out of myself, you know what I mean? So when other people want to take the piss out of me, I’m all good. I find it funny.”
Is there a better candidate to be UFC 303’s back-up fighter than Alexander Volkanovski or would that be too much, too soon for “The Great” if that was the case?
