Undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov may be one of the most dominant forces in MMA, but one man fancies his chances of grounding “The Eagle”.
Newly-crowned UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (21-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) may be one of the smaller featherweights on the roster, but he nonetheless thinks he’d fare well against Nurmagomedov if they ever met inside the octagon.
The former rugby player has competed all the way up at 170 pounds before, and thinks he’d have no issues at lightweight. With his strong grappling and striking ability, Volkanovski thinks he’d be an interesting matchup for Nurmagomedov, who no one has been able to stop.
“Lets be honest, I’m not an easy man to hold down,” Volkanovski told TMZ. “Me being short sometimes works in my favor. These little limbs get me up pretty easily. I’m very strong, I’ve got very good base and then obviously you’s know I can strike so it definitely is intriguing. A lot of people are going to be like: ‘Oh he’s way bigger than you.’ Whatever, mate! I’ve been versus people way bigger than me my whole life and it’s never held me down, so me being shorter ain’t a problem.”
“I believe pound-for-pound I’m one of the strongest in the UFC, and even for the lightweights, they feel my power.”
Volkanovski captured the 145-pound title by dethroning Max Holloway, pressuring him, and out-striking him over the course of five rounds. While he has no intentions of moving up to lightweight anytime soon, he does see himself being able to compete there, with the division’s best.
“It’s definitely my division,” Volkanovski said on featherweight. “I make weight pretty easily, I’m very strong in this division. I’m the champ of this division so it’s obviously working well for me. I’m strong in the lightweight division, to be quite honest. But obviously those boys are bigger, but again (with) my strength I wouldn’t be afraid to go up either.”
Alexander Volkanovski too small to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov? 'Whatever, mate'
