Alex Volkanovski’s coach isn’t happy Frankie Edgar received the next UFC featherweight title shot over the Australian.
Alex Volkanovski’s coach has said his team is ‘devastated’ that Frankie Edgar has received the next title shot against Max Holloway over the Australian.
Volkanovski (20-1) is unbeaten in the UFC since debuting for the promotion in late 2016. The 30-year-old is coming off an impressive unanimous decision win against Jose Also this past weekend at UFC 237. “The Great” earned $50,000 for his second-round knockout win of Chad Mendes at UFC 232 before his recent win in Brazil.
It was revealed earlier this week that Edgar would fight Holloway for the title in July. Volkanovski’s coach, Eugene Bareman, spoke to Submission Radio about this news.
“This has nothing to do with Frankie,” Bareman said. “I mean, I don’t know Frankie, I don’t know his coaches, I don’t know his management or anything. And it’s not about that Frankie doesn’t deserve it. He probably does deserve it. He just doesn’t deserve it more than Alex Volkanovski deserves it. Unfortunately for Frankie, him and his team advised him to take that risky fight against Brian Ortega. And I fully understand why you gotta do that, because you can’t wait around forever, your family has to eat, you have to earn money. But it’s called a risk for a reason.”
Following his win over Aldo, Volkanovski was unfortunately admitted to a local hospital in Brazil after picking up a blood infection. Bareman continued by stating Volkanovski’s seven-fight winning streak in the UFC should have been enough to warrant a title shot over Edgar.
“I know Volko already alluded to this, that it’s called a risk for a reason. Unfortunately, he lost, and then he beat Cub Swanson. So now he’s won one fight, now he’s going into the title fight. Well, Volko’s won seven (in a row). Outside of the UFC he’s 17 in a row. Seven straight, just beat Aldo, who Frankie’s fought twice and never managed to best.
“The popular opinion out there amongst fans and so-called experts and analysts is that Volko was the next in line, and we were on that same thought train and to have it ripped out from underneath us is devastating for our team, devastating to be honest.”
Holloway vs. Edgar is expected to headline UFC 240 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. As for Volkanovski, he’ll have to wait and see if he’ll end up fighting the winner of this matchup.