Former Champ Says He’s Returning At UFC 312 And Fighting For ‘Gold’

Former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski only wants fights that excite him.

According to Volkanovski, who spoke during a UFC media event on Thursday, fights for titles and money excite him, and he has both in mind when the UFC returns to his home country of Australia on February 8 for UFC 312.

“Fighting for the title is pretty much what was promised to me, and February looks like the perfect date for that,” Volkanovski said. “I’ll be facing the winner of Ilia [Topuria] and Max [Holloway].”

When asked about the importance of fighting in his “home state,” Volkanovski said, “I’ll do whatever it takes to get on that card.”

Volkanovski is arguably the best featherweight in history. He has a 26-4 record as a professional, but three of his four losses have come in his last four fights. Worse, two losses came by KO and happened within four months.

To Volkanovski’s credit, the losses came to champions in two weight classes. In October 2023, Volkanovski was stopped by lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in a rematch of their thrilling February 2023 clash.

Rather than taking some time off, Volkanovski returned five months later to face the red-hot Topuria and was knocked out in the second round. While those losses were devastating, it’s understandable for him to have a title-or-nothing approach for his next fight.

“Anything with gold in it, I’ll be happy,” Volkanovski said. “That will just lock me in for whoever wins that anyway. So, even if it’s the interim, that’s still a big one. I’d say it’d be an exciting one with [Diego] Lopes I’d say, if that was going to happen, if not it’s Max [Holloway] or Ilia [Topuria].”

Here is a look at the entire media session, which was posted by Submission Radio.

Topuria and Holloway clash for the 145-pound title on October 26 in Abu Dhabi. Depending on what happens, the two men could have a rematch. If that happens, Volkanovski could fight Lopes for the interim title. If he can beat the young and dynamic Brazilian, he could face the winner of the Topuria-Holloway rematch.

In any case, it seems a good bet that Volkanovski gets his wish to fight for gold in Sydney.

Other UFC News – UFC Vegas 99 is Saturday, October 19

The UFC heads to the Apex in Vegas again before UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi. The card is strong for an Apex event.

In the main event, Michel Pereira faces Anthony Hernandez in a battle of ranked middleweights on the rise. Pereira is a human highlight reel. He’s won eight fights in a row and secured five performance bonuses along the way, including four in a row.

Hernandez is anything but flashy, but he’s one of the best submission artists in the division. It’s a fascinating matchup at the top of the event.

Here is a look at the entire card.