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Alexander Volkanovski plots lightweight return after UFC 298 despite title losses: ‘It’s definitely in the near future’

Alexander Volkanovski plans lightweight title fight after UFC 298 definitely in the near future Undisputed featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski claims a lightweight return is defintiely something he plots in the immediate future –…

Undisputed featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski claims a lightweight return is defintiely something he plots in the immediate future – despite suffering losses in his first two charges for the undisputed gold at 155 pounds last year.

Volkanovski, the current undisputed featherweight champion, has been sidelined since he headlined UFC 294 back in October of last year in Abu Dhabi, UAE on short-notice.

Suffering his second attempt to dislodge pound-for-pound number one, Islam Makhachev from his lightweight perch, Volkanovski was stopped with a stunning opening round high-kick and strikes KO loss to the Russian in the pair’s rematch.

And booking a quickfire comeback later this month at UFC 298 in Anaheim, Volkanovski takes on the surging, unbeaten featherweight challenger, Ilia Topuria – attempting to retain his featherweight crown as part of a dominant reign.

Alexander Volkanovski plans lightweight future

However, despite the fact a clear path to a lightweight title siege for a third time seems more than cloudy for New South Wales native, Volkanovski, the incoming headlining starts still has plans for a continued future a division higher.

“Definitely not (finished at lightweight},” Alexander Volkanovski told assembled media during a press event ahead of UFC 298 in Sydney. “Obviously straight after – I’m a realist. I’m not expecting a rematch straight away. Everyone’s going to see that. They’re going to be like, ‘The age thing’ and all that. There’s going tobe some people doubting, ‘Is his time done?’ – which is hyping up this fight, so I’m all good with it.”

“But, everybody’s going to be reminded, and everybody is going to be switching a full 180 (degrees) saying there’s nobody left for me at 145, and they want me to go take that lightweight belt. That’s what I plan on doing. I’m going to go out there, take care of Ilia (Topuria) and we’ll see what’s next, but lightweight definitely in the near future.”

Do you think Alexander Volkanovski can ever land lightweight spoils?

Alexander Volkanovski moves as bigger betting favorite to beat Ilia Topuria in championship fight at UFC 298

Undisputed featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski continues to sit as a betting favorite to beat incoming title chaser, unbeaten foe,…

Undisputed featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski continues to sit as a betting favorite to beat incoming title chaser, unbeaten foe, Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 next month – with the Australian moving as bigger betting favorite as the day’s countdown to his championship return.

Volkanovski, the current undisputed featherweight champion, makes his return to the Octagon at UFC 298 next month in Anaheim, California, returning to the 145 pound limit in a title fight defense against Georgian challenger, Topuria.

Sidelined since October of last year, Alexander Volkanovski suffered a thunderous opening round high-kick and strikes KO loss to Islam Makhachev in the pair’s championship rematch at UFC 294 on short-notice.

As for Topuria, the surging undefeated contender earned his premier title tilt since moving to the UFC back in August in a main event bout with former interim title challenger, Josh Emmett, landing a one-sided unanimous decision win over the Phoenix knockout artist.

Alexander Volkanovski betting favorite to win at UFC 298

And despite his massive knockout loss to two-time opponent, Makhachev at UFC 294 just months ago – in tandem with a quickfire turnaround in Anaheim, Volkanovski continues to drift as a decent betting favorite at -142 to beat the +120 betting underdog, Topuria – in his return to the featherweight limit.

With fans in Oceania set to tune in in their masses to watch fan-favorite New South Wales technician, Alexander Volkanovski take on Topuria at UFC 298, fans and bettors can avail of many free $50 pokies no deposit sign up bonus Australia ahead of the bout and even on fight night – in what promises to be one of the most high-profile cards of the year.

Headlining UFC 284 back in February of last year in a lightweight championship siege on home soil in Australia, Volkanovski suffered a close, unanimous decision loss to pound-for-pound number one, Makhachev in the pair’s massive title clash. The defeat came as Alexander Volkanovski’s first in the promotion.

Returning to the featherweight limit in between his high-kick knockout loss to Makhachev, Volkanovski headlined UFC 290 back in July during International Fight Week, successfully unifying the featherweight titles with a fourth round TKO win over then-interim champion, Yair Rodríguez in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Since his Octagon tenure began four years ago, Topuria has turned in six consecutive victories, landing other notable triumphs against the likes of Jai Herbert – with a massive second round KO, as well as a submission win over The Ultimate Fighter alum, Bryce Mitchell in another pay-per-view clash.

Amongst Alexander Volkanovski’s title fight defense against Topuria at UFC 298, the card also features a slew of high-profile bouts, including a massive co-main event at the bantamweight limit as former two-division champion, Henry Cejudo takes on surging contender, Merab Dvalishvili in an expected title-eliminator at the 135 pound limit.

Also worth keeping an eye on for Australian fans, former undisputed middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker makes his long-anticipated return to the Octagon for the first time since July – hoping to finally secure a long-speculated fight against former title chaser, Paulo Costa in a main card clash at UFC 298.

Henry Cejudo Says Fighters Like Sean Strickland Need to stop sharing their personal struggles with everyone

Henry Cejudo is tired of seeing fighters air their dirty laundry and personal struggles to the public. Things have…

Henry Cejudo is tired of seeing fighters air their dirty laundry and personal struggles to the public.

Things have begun to heat up, particularly in the middleweight division where the ever-outspoken Sean Strickland currently sits atop the throne. Last month, Strickland and his UFC 297 challenger, Dricus Du Plessis, got into a heated exchange during the promotion’s seasonal press conference after ‘Stillknocks’ had commented on the champ’s history of growing up in an abusive home.

Cejudo, a former two-division UFC world champion, doesn’t see any benefit to putting these issues out in the open. Particularly in the case of Strickland who has spent plenty of time launching personal attacks on other fighters before being targeted for his own publicized vulnerabilities.

“I wouldn’t share things that bug you if you can’t be an advocate for it,” Cejudo said on his YouTube channel. “Especially to the world. But, you’re talking about peoples’ wives and calling people f*cks, and things of that nature. How do you not expect somebody else to come at you?”

Henry Cejudo seems to indicate fighters like Sean Strickland and Alex Volkanovski didn’t get emotional in public

pic.twitter.com/rv9BcQ9NdE

— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) January 5, 2024

Before getting into a physical altercation with Du Plessis at UFC 296, Sean Strickland launched a campaign against rising welterweight contender Ian Macho Garry and his wife, Layla Anna-Lee, calling her a “succubus” and “predator” after it was revealed that the 40-year-old TV personality had written a book on how to date young athletes and celebrities. Anna-Lee is 14 years younger than Garry.

While Cejudo suggested that making things personal could add a level of motivation for someone like Strickland come fight night, ‘Triple C’ ultimately believes that fighters, including Alexander Volkanovski, should save their traumatic experiences and personal battles for a more private setting.

“I hope you can come to the consensus to be able to accept the fact that you’re in this game, bro,” Cejudo said. “Learn how to play, don’t be [mocks crying]. You can’t, man.

“It’s the same with Volkanovski,” he continued. “Volkanovski is showing his cards that he goes through anxiety if he doesn’t fight. Like, bro, like what the f*ck. Keep some of that sh*t to yourself. The world doesn’t need to know” (h/t MMA Mania).

Robbery Of The Year – LowKick MMA 2023 Awards

While there were plenty of options available for Robbery of the Year in 2023, the LowKick MMA staff largely…

While there were plenty of options available for Robbery of the Year in 2023, the LowKick MMA staff largely landed on one especially egregious decision as its favorite. Or in this case, least favorite.

Earning five nominations and running away with the vote was the June 3 main event clash between former interim flyweight title challenger Kai Kara-France and streaking division standout Amir Albazi.

Robbery of the Year – Amir Albazi vs. Kai Kara-France – UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs. Albazi – (5 votes)

Amir Albazi scored the biggest win of his career, but in the eyes of many, including UFC CEO Dana White, it left a lot of unanswered questions.

Throughout their five-round affair, neither fighter could assert themselves for long stretches. However, Kara-France noticeably upped his urgency as time went on, delivering a strong finish that convinced several of his peers that he had won the fight. Instead, Albazi was handed the victory via split decision, causing an uproar from fans and fighters alike.

Kara-Frances’ teammate, Israel Adesanya, immediately called for firing the two judges who favored Albazi along with offering some more colorful commentary in response to the blatant robbery.

Honorable Mentions:

Joselyn Edwards vs. Lucie Pudilova – UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Allen – (2 votes)

Kicking off the UFC’s return to Kansas City, Joselyn Edwards escaped with a much-maligned split decision after giving up seven and a half minutes of control time to Lucie Pudilova. Scoring on two of her seven takedown attempts, Pudilova lit up Edwards on the ground with a series of ground-and-pound strikes. However, Edwards held the advantage in significant strikes, landing 56 compared to Pudilova’s 39.

Media scores from 15 MMA news outlets favored Pudilova with them primarily pointing to her control time that spanned 50% of the contest. In the end, Edwards walked away with a split decision, giving us our first big robbery of 2023.

That’s really bad! What a bad start to the night with Judging. Holy shit

— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) April 15, 2023

Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski – UFC 284 – (1 vote)

This is one nomination for Robbery of the Year that had fight fans understandably split. After dominating the featherweight division for years, Alexander Volkanovski stepped up to lightweight for an opportunity to challenge reigning 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev.

Earning Fight of the Year honors, Makhachev vs. Volkanovski delivered a brilliant back-and-forth battle that ultimately saw the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ leave with his title intact, though it didn’t come without a bit of controversy. Makhachev clearly controlled the ground game, scoring four of nine takedowns with more than seven and a half minutes of control time.

But it was Volkanovski who would go on to land 164 total strikes compared to Makhachev’s 95. That discrepancy was more than enough for fans to see it in favor of Volkanovski, but all three judges disagreed, favoring Makhachev via unanimous decision.

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru usman – UFC 294 – (1 vote)

Former welterweight world champion Kamaru Usman stepped into UFC 294 on 11 days’ notice to square off with undefeated Chechen monster Khamzat Chimaev in the evening’s co-main event. Despite the short-notice nature of the contest and the fact that Usman was moving up a weight class, Chimaev had a surprisingly difficult time while tussling with ‘The Nigerian Nightmare.’

After 15 minutes, judge David Lethaby scored the bout a 28-28 draw while judges Derek Clearly and Vito Paolillo scored it in favor of Chimaev, resulting in a majority decision. Though not everyone agreed with the decision, Chimaev landed nearly twice as many total strikes as his opponent. On top of that, Chimaev scored on four of 12 attempted takedowns resulting in 7:16 in control time.

Which robbery would you have voted as the best (or worst) or 2023?

Full List Of The LowKick MMA 2023 Robbery Of The Year Votes:

Ross Markey: Amir Albazi
Ian Shutts: Amir Albazi
Murdo Todd: Joselyn Edwards
Craig Pekios: Islam Makhachev
Makoa Goble: Amir Albazi
Tony King: Amir Albazi
Red Pill MMA: Khamzat Chimaev
Michael Owens: Amir Albazi
Danny Podolsky: Joselyn Edwards

B/R’s Pound-for-Pound UFC Rankings to Close out 2023

The UFC’s pound-for-pound pecking order has changed dramatically since the beginning of this year. Just think about all that’s happened. We saw former…

UFC 298 title challenger Ilia Topuria has already updated his social media profiles to include ‘UFC World Champion’

Ilia Topuria is feeling pretty confident ahead of his first UFC title opportunity. So much so that ‘El Matador’…

Ilia Topuria is feeling pretty confident ahead of his first UFC title opportunity.

So much so that ‘El Matador’ has already added “UFC World Champion” to his social media profiles roughly two months away from his featherweight title clash with the reigning and defending king of the division, Alexander Volkanovski, at UFC 298 in Anaheim.

Topuria rides into his first championship opportunity with an undefeated 14-0 record, six of those wins coming under the UFC banner. ‘El Matador’ established his spot with a big unanimous decision victory over former interim title challenger Josh Emmett at UFC on ABC 5 in June.

Alexander Volkanovski isn’t buying Ilia Topuria as the guy to end his featherweight reign

Meanwhile, Alexander Volkanovski will be looking to bounce back after suffering a first-round knockout against current lightweight champ Islam Makhachev. ‘The Great’ stepped into the UFC 294 title tilt on 11 days’ notice and ultimately paid the price.

Though it was his second straight loss while challenging for the 155-pound crown, Volkanovski has looked practically unbeatable at featherweight and there’s nothing on Ilia Topuria’s resume to make him think that his reign at 145 will end in 2024.

“He needs to do something in February to show elite level because right now, I haven’t seen it,” Volkanovski told Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. “That doesn’t mean he’s not elite… But, there’s gonna be levels where you need to be more than just fundamentally sound. Like, if he thinks he’s gonna be able to outwrestle me, with what I’ve seen, he needs to show more than what he’s done, a lot more. Submission-wise, a lot more.

“I haven’t seen him do anything more special than any other of the guys that I’ve faced,” Volkanovski continued. “That doesn’t mean he’s not that good, but he needs to show me that. With the striking, again, durable, powerful dude, very fundamentally sound… But again, it’s so much more than that. I’ll leave it at that” (h/t MMA News).