There isn’t a designated back up fighter (that we know of) for UFC 304’s Welterweight title fight main event between the champion, Leon Edwards, and challenger, Belal Muhammad. Luckily for UFC, Alexander Volkanovski is in Manchester, England for the festivities this weekend (Sat., July 27, 2024).
Volkanovski, 35, has been out of action since he lost his Featherweight title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February 2024 (watch highlights). “The Great” has opted to take an extended break after back-to-back knockout losses that first started with Lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev, in October 2023, followed by the Topuria outcome.
The Makhachev rematch came on roughly two weeks’ notice for Volkanovski and felt like an opportunity he couldn’t pass up on, as he described at the time. Having fought as high as Welterweight before in his 30-fight career (26-4), Volkanovski doesn’t think he’d have much of a problem saving the day again if needed.
“You never know. The Welterweights? The Heavyweights? Mate, believe it or not, I’d do it,” Volkanovski told The Mac Life. “Good paycheck for that one.
“I’m good mates with Leon, but if you’re gonna save the day, you’re gonna save the day,” he continued. “He’s a great fighter so that’s gonna be a tough fight. This is not disrespectful, stylistically, Belal, he’s gonna be offended by that. I’m not trying to offend you but that’s a fight that I believe I could do. Leon Edwards, obviously, I believe in myself all the time but Leon’s good. He’s very, very threatening in so many areas. I’m not saying Belal’s not, but obviously, Belal’s more strategy, good game plan, and calculated. That’s compliments, but I mean that stuff, you need more than that to beat me. Out-strategizing me is going to be very, very hard.”
Volkanovki’s first career loss came in a Welterweight bout against Corey Nelson on the Australian regional scene in May 2013. Similar to Makhachev, Nelson took out the future UFC legend with a head kick and punches.
On a more realistic note, Volkanovski maintains that his return will be a Featherweight title fight.
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 304 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 304: “Edwards vs. Belal 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.