Former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has surprisingly thrown his name in the hat to possibly step in on short notice to feature in the UFC 303 main event.
The scheduled UFC 303 main event between Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler on International Fight Week is seemingly in jeopardy after the Dublin press conference was postponed this past Monday.
Although the promotion is yet to announce the cancelation of the fight, they are reportedly searching for possible replacements with McGregor’s involvement in question.
Alexander Volkanovski is open to stepping in on short notice
Alexander Volkanovski has previously stated that he would step in on short notice to fight ‘The Notorious’ at UFC 303, but he has now made it clear that he would step up to fight anyone, as long as it’s a big fight.
“You’re hearing all these whispers, ‘What’s going on with Conor McGregor?’ and whatnot. Maybe they need a late notice replacement again, so I’m always keen to throw my hand up,” Volkanovski told Submission Radio.
The 35-year-old last fought in February at UFC 298, where he lost his featherweight strap to Ilia Topuria, suffering a brutal consecutive knockout loss.
Following his devastating loss, the Australian claimed that he was going to take an extended period of time off from fighting, to properly recover from his losses. Despite that, Volkanovski has stated he would ‘100%’ be open to fighting Michael Chandler on late notice.
“Yeah, 100% (I’d be interested in fighting Chandler). As long as it’s a big fight, I wouldn’t just take any fight, like you said that (UFC 303 main event) is a big deal, save the day, I don’t know, I feel like I just love to save the day, I’m just that good of a guy,” Volk added.
Volkanovski favors Max Holloway in a potential fight against Ilia Topuria
Volkanovski will likely need to wait for the culmination of Ilia Topuria vs Max Holloway before he realizes another featherweight title fight, with that fight likely taking place later this year.
After having shared the Octagon with both 145lbers, the former champion favors Max Holloway in a potential featherweight title fight against ‘El Matador’.
“Ilia is a great fighter but I’d probably pick Max in that one. His chin has obviously held up that many times and I think his boxing is going to be good enough.
“(Holloway) will get hit so Ilia will be testing that chin but at the same time I think Max Holloway going into the later rounds is just going to favor him,” Volkanovski predicted.
UFC analyst, Chael Sonnen, believes that if McGregor does withdraw from the UFC 303 main event, the UFC should make a ‘BMF’ title fight between Holloway and Chandler, with that fantasy fight possibly delaying a featherweight title fight.