Dana White (AP Photograph/John Locher)
UFC President Dana White informed reporters the promotion wouldn’t say no to former UFC featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski’s want for a title shot in his house nation of Australia, and that seems to be the case.
Volkanovski needed to rematch Ilia Topuria to regain his title.
The UFC will likely be in Sydney on February 9 for UFC 312, however Topuria gained’t be out there, thus it seems to be like Volkanovski will likely be in a battle with No. 3-ranked Diego Lopes.
Australian MMA journalist Benny P reported by way of X on Wednesday that Volkanovski vs. Lopes is within the works for UFC 312.
Other than a rematch with Topuria, Volkanovski vs. Lopes is the subsequent greatest combat to make at featherweight. There isn’t a indication within the report whether or not the combat could be for the interim title, however it might make sense, as Volkanovski mentioned earlier this month that he needed to combat for gold.
The UFC may additionally elect to make this an interim title combat as a result of the will is probably going for Topuria to combat on his card. Nevertheless, the champion has earned the best to relaxation and get better .
After his KO win over Max Holloway at UFC 308, the UFC possible needs Topuria’s subsequent title protection to happen in a soccer stadium in his second house nation of Spain. Volkanovski has mentioned he would like to combat Topuria in that sort of venue.
Nevertheless, he might want to beat Lopes earlier than incomes that chance. Lopes has been on hearth and as energetic as anybody within the UFC during the last two years.
He’s on a five-fight win streak and has fought six instances since Could 2023. Lopes’ solely loss within the UFC got here in his promotional debut towards undefeated contender Movsar Evloev in Could 2023.
It’s an thrilling time for the featherweight division with a dominant champion in place to name his shot for his subsequent combat. Beneath him, the division goes by means of some turnover, which might lay the muse for brand spanking new star energy to emerge at 145 kilos. Evloev could be subsequent in line for a title shot after the winner of Volkanovski-Lopes.
The undefeated Russian will tackle Aljamain Sterling at UFC 310 in December. The winner of that combat will likely be in prime place to maneuver into the Prime 5, and with Holloway shifting completely to light-weight, his spot within the rankings will likely be occupied by another person.
Yair Rodriguez has been inactive since February, when he misplaced by way of submission to Brian Ortega. Rodriguez has misplaced two fights in a row, so his subsequent combat would possibly come towards somebody ranked beneath him. A possible matchup for Rodriguez may very well be No. 7 Arnold Allen.
That combat may very well be a hold-your-spot-in-the-line match for Rodriguez however one more alternative for ascension for Allen. In earlier makes an attempt to qualify for a title shot, Allen has come up brief towards Holloway and Evloev.
The UFC has not formally introduced any fights for the cardboard, however it looks like a Volkanovski-Lopes bout would land in the primary occasion spot. A significant ladies’s bantamweight or flyweight combat might fall within the co-main occasion slot.
Keep tuned as we await extra info on UFC 311 and 312.
