Alexander Volkanovski, the former AFC Featherweight Champion, currently competes in the UFC featherweight division and holds the UFC featherweight title.
The Australian fighter last appeared in the Octagon in July 2022 to compete against Max Holloway, though he had stunningly defended his featherweight title but got injured.
In order to return to the Octagon, “The Great” is currently working on his recovery phase. Last Monday, through his YouTube channel, the Australian champion announced that he would be the backup fighter for the main event of UFC 280.
“We’re locked in as a backup fighter. I’ve been calling it, I said I wanted it, just had to make sure the hand was all good, so we’re all good. We’re locked in, and we got the clearance to fight.”
The main attraction of UFC 280 would be the fight between the Brazilian Charles Oliveira and the Russian Islam Makhachev for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship title, as “Do Bronx” failed to pass the weight test in UFC 274 against Justin Gaethje.
The current featherweight champion is eyeing the UFC lightweight title too. If any lightweight championship contender fails or backs out, Volkanovski will get the opportunity to compete for the title in UFC 280. However, the only condition is that he has to pass the weight test.
“The UFC is on board, everyone is on board, so I’ll be at UFC 280 to make weight, and yeah, looking forward to it. We’ll see what happens..”- Volkanovski said.
The Australian MMA artist also confirmed to his fans, if he doesn’t feature in the UFC 280, Mr. Great will be the mandatory challenger for the lightweight title.
“If someone doesn’t make it, I’m there to save the day. If not, at least I’m locked in as the next guy to fight for that lightweight title, and that’s that.”
