UFC 267: Alex Volkanovski reveals ‘champ champ’ bid after earning featherweight GOAT status

Alex Volkanovski has revealed his plans to become the featherweight GOAT before entering one of the UFC’s most prestigious clubs in 2022.

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski pictured at The Carriage Works in Sydney. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Hollywood superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger is the latest celebrity to heap praise on UFC featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski, who has also opened up on his own plans to chase ‘Champ Champ’ status in 2022.

A longtime fan of the UFC, Schwarzenegger used a monthly newsletter followed by millions to talk up Volkanovski’s UFC 266 win over American Brian Ortega - describing the Aussie’s heroics in round three as “one of the best rounds of fighting I’ve ever seen”.

His comments come as the Wollongong slugger outlined to The Daily Telegraph his championship plans for 2022 – which includes a potential tilt at the UFC lightweight strap.

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While Volkanovski initially hinted at a move up in weight following the Ortega win, he will instead now wait for the winner of next month’s No.1 featherweight contender bout between Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez.

While the Aussie has also been called out by Henry Cejudo, with the two-division UFC champ angling to come out of retirement for a showdown, Volkanovski and his team do not expect that fight to be made by the UFC.

Instead, the 33-year-old will wait for the winner of Holloway-Rodriguez, with a win against either man then setting him up for a potential crack at the lightweight title.

Alexander Volkanovski lands a vicious elbow during his war with Brian Ortega. Picture: Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty

Currently, UFC lightweight champ Charles Oliveira is set to defend against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269 in December.

“Right now, I’d love to be active,” Volkanovski said on Tuesday.

“But as the champion, that can be difficult at times. Especially when I’ve always lived by the idea that a title shot, it has to be earned.

“People can’t just be given a shot, just like it was never given to me.

“So I can’t let somebody from down the line have a title shot just for the sake of it.

“It doesn’t make sense.

“So while I want to be active, the timing is off. I have to fight against the next guy in line … and that’s what I now have to wait on.”

On a potential move up to lightweight, he continued: “Obviously I’m not just going to move up for anyone.

“It has to be a big money fight, or a fight for the belt.

“And if the lightweight champ was waiting around right now it would be good to go.

“But he’s not.

“So I’ll go defend the featherweight belt again, earn GOAT status in my division and then I can move up after that.

“If I defend my belt again, then I definitely deserve a shot at that double champ status.

Alex Volkanovski celebrates at a Las Vegas Raiders game after UFC 266.

“And moving up has always been something I’ve wanted to do.

“But I just have to sort my division first.

“So after my next fight (against the winner of Holloway-Rodriguez) if I’m waiting for a new No.1 contender then maybe I can go dance at lightweight then come back down.”

Elsewhere, Volkanovski’s list of celebrity supporters continues to grow, with Schwarzenegger the latest to heap praise on the former Wollongong concreter – joining the likes of Mel Gibson, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Oscar De La Hoya and Chris Hemsworth.

In particular, Schwarzenegger praised the way Volkanovski and his “champion’s mindset” twice escaped deep guillotine and triangle choke attempts by Ortega – the first of which the actor described as “one of the tightest chokes I’ve seen”.

“I heard Volkanovski thought of his family while caught in the choke and used the motivation to give it all he had to get out,” Schwarzenegger said.

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski pictured at The Carriage Works in Sydney. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“He didn’t want to lose the belt for his family, or for himself. That is a champion’s mindset.”

Schwarzenegger also said Volkanovski finished the third round so strongly, pounding Ortega on the ground, that he, like the champ, had expected the fight to be stopped.

“I thought the fight was over and the ref would stop it,” he said. “But they let (Ortega) go on until the end of the round.

“At that point there was some confusion because Ortega did not look all there, and seemed to be answering the concussion questions wrong, but they let him fight anyway …”

Volkanovski revealed that, despite gaining The Terminator star’s praise this month, he actually first fought in front of him “six or seven years ago”, at an Arnold Classic event in Melbourne.

“My teammate and I did a demo fight there,” Volkanovski says. “I didn’t get to meet Schwarzenegger because he was surrounded by security and fans - (laughs) I didn’t want to be another one of those guys chasing him around.

“But it is funny to think about how things happen.

“Years ago, I was doing demo fights at The Arnold and now he’s watching me defend UFC titles.”

Originally published as UFC 267: Alex Volkanovski reveals ‘champ champ’ bid after earning featherweight GOAT status