Alexander Volkanovski likely to face Max Holloway in Sydney or Perth
Alexander Volkanovski is being discussed for a blockbuster UFC featherweight title defence on home soil this June – with both Sydney and Perth the early favourites to host.
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Alexander Volkanovski is being discussed for a blockbuster UFC title defence on home soil this June – with both Sydney and Perth the early favourites to host.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal UFC officials are currently in negotiations for a bumper Australian featherweight headliner for 31-year-old Volkanovski, who shocked the fight world by dethroning Hawaiian superstar Max Holloway at UFC 245 last December.
While the Wollongong native has been vocal about his desire to defend in Sydney – at either Bankwest Stadium and Qudos Bank Arena – it’s understood Perth is also right in the mix for his first defence, which UFC president Dana White has already said will be a Holloway rematch.
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While Volkanovski broke his hand in the stunning title upset, against a fighter many considered the greatest featherweight of all time, the father-of-two is already back in training and is aiming for a return to the Octagon by that June deadline.
Only recently, the new champ also released a social media video which showed him working out with his hand still in a cast.
The fighter added that while he received “a couple of screws” during surgery, there was no way the injury would keep him from beginning preparations for his first title defence.
“That’s the way I am,” Volkaonvski revealed in the clip. “The way I’ve always been.
“If you’ve got a busted (right) hand, use the left. Or use the right when you have to. Do whatever you need to do to get the job done.
“So I needed a couple of screws in that one … I wouldn’t say put me on the sideline. Maybe I’m bred different.
“There is a lot of strength work I can be doing. And throwing a shitload of left hands and left jabs.”
The Aussie also hinted that his overhauled training program could also bring some surprise benefits.
“I can use this as an excuse to not train and people would forgive me for it,” he said.
“But that’s not how I am. And the right hand was the money maker. But now I’m using the left hand so much it could be the new money maker.”
While Volkanovski would obviously prefer to have his first defence in Sydney, there is growing talk that Perth will be the venue.
Certainly the West Australian government could argue it’s owed a title bout after former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker was forced to withdraw from UFC 221 at Perth Arena in 2018, following a series of health problems, which included chickenpox.
Initially, Whittaker had been set to defend his middleweight strap against American Luke Rockhold.
Yet after his withdrawal, the Sydney father-of-three was replaced by Cuban monster Yoel Romero, who ultimately defeated Rockhold by knockout, despite not making weight.