Alexander Volkanovski confirms the next fight will be for the UFC title and shuts down the Diego Lopes rumors

Former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski’s UFC career may have seen better days, but ‘the Great’ believes those days are back. Volk has claimed he will fight for the title next. This also effectively shuts down any rumors of a fight with featherweight prospect Diego Lopes.

However, he still doesn’t know when that will be. At the moment, he says, there are two options. The first of these options is for him to get his rematch against champion Ilia Topuria at his home in Spain.

The Spaniard has a huge following in his home country and has spoken of selling out Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu.

If that is indeed the case, then Volk will be happy that he skipped his own home crowd for it, which brings us to the second option. UFC 312 will take place in Sydney, Australia in February 2025. And if that’s the case, Volk has a month and a half at best to stay fit and ready.

“Could Sydney still be an option? If so, I’ll make sure I stay fit… I’ll be getting close to camp now anyway… So I’ll just stick with it. We keep training and we’ll see what happens. Nothing has been set yet, but we’ll see. “

When asked if the Lopes fight was locked in, Volk claimed he had no idea where that speculation came from.

“I think that was just, he clearly said let’s do it in Sydney and I think people just ran with that, but that’s not talked about at all. Oh well, you never know, right? But NO! Obviously we’re fighting for the title, so that’s what we’re going to focus on, but we’ll see what happens. But something like that is absolutely not fixed.”

However, despite his legendary status, fans don’t seem too convinced that he’ll be facing a title fight anytime soon.

Fans remain unsure about Volk vs Topuria

Volk is a legend in his own right, but his last two fights against lightweight champion Islam Makhchev, and then Ilia Topuria, ended in knockout losses.

While offering some form of resistance to Makhachev, the Dagestani fighter put him to sleep with a swift kick to the head. Topuria, on the other hand, simply beat him at everything.

This is why fans believe he needs a win before challenging for UFC gold again. This man expressed the sentiment, saying: “Bro is coming off two devastating KO losses and talks about “we’re fighting for a title”, it doesn’t matter how long he held it, if he wants a rematch he needs a win“.

Another fan claimed the title fight would be pointless because he doesn’t see Volk winning, claiming: “I love Volk, but the gap in skills and power between him and the champion is too great. I don’t understand why he’s still going for it, especially at the end of his career. There are not many years left to improve.”

Another fan claimed that the Ilia vs. Volk fight wasn’t big enough for a Spanish stadium and presented a new idea: “Lmao, the Volk rematch isn’t big enough for a stadium in Spain. Just do it in Sydney or Vegas, Topuria will put Volk to sleep again, and then we get Islam vs. Topuria in Bernabéu.”

Regardless of the naysayers, the fact remains that Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski is one of the most reliable fighters on the UFC roster and has been an exemplary champion. And since Topuria himself has promised him a rematch, that should close the debate.