Volkanovski Wants McGregor Over Topuria

Alexander Volkanovski says he would rather face Conor McGregor first before chasing a rematch with Ilia Topuria.
Volkanovski is coming off a second-round knockout loss to Topuria, who became the UFC Featherweight Champion at UFC 298. That was the third loss out of Volkanovski’s four last bouts. The defeat ended his four-year reign as a champion. It was also his first stoppage loss at featherweight.
He had lost back-to-back bouts with Islam Makhachev, the UFC Lightweight Champion. There were question marks over whether or not Volkanovski is the same fighter. There had been talks of the Topuria rematch. However, the Georgian is going to face Max Holloway at UFC 308. Holloway is the BMF Champion after having knocking out Justin Gaethje at UFC 300.
Volkanovski Vs. McGregor
The fight ended in thrilling circumstances as Holloway landed a massive right hand to end the fight with one second left. Volkanovski is in line to potentially face the winner of that fight. However, there is also the option of taking on Conor McGregor. McGregor has not had a UFC fight since losing to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in 2021. That was his third defeat out of his previous four UFC fights. He suffered a broken leg, which has kept him out for some time. He was on course to face Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29.
And yet, the Irishman withdrew after suffering a broken toe. Dana White has stated that McGregor will fight early next year. In the meantime, Chandler has moved on, as he will take on Charles Oliveira in a rematch at UFC 309 on November 16. The Irishman has two fights left on his UFC deal.
McGregor vs Chandler is not guaranteed to happen, as Chandler could move on depending on the result of the Oliveira rematch. A win takes him closer to a lightweight shot, while a loss may reduce the demand for the McGregor fight. If there is an opportunity to face McGregor, Volkanovski was ready to seize it with both hands.
Volkanovski Reacts
“It’s just doing a contender fight in featherweight division, that doesn’t really get me out of bed. It would have to be a build on the line to get me excited and obviously, the Conor Mcgregor fight is very exciting. That’s a tricky one. I mean, obviously, I want that, I want that match back with Ilia, right, yeah? But I mean, right now, well, I don’t know exactly what’s happening in February.
“If Ilia wins, I don’t even know where he would want to fight. I don’t think, you know, I think they might be talking about maybe Sydney or something. I don’t think Ilia is going to want to fight there. So, who knows how long it is going to be. Is he gonna wait another six to seven months? So, I’ll say Conor McGregor right now, because then I could still do Ilia straight after that,” Volkanovski said
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