Oliveira Vs. Volkanovski? ‘It’s All About Timing’

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight champion, Alexander Volkanovski, feels he’s ready to make the leap up to the Lightweight division.

This past weekend (July 2, 2022), Volkanovski scored his fourth consecutive successful title defense, dispatching of former titlist, Max Holloway, via a one-sided unanimous decision (watch highlights). Before the bout, “The Great” has made his eventual intentions clear of one day moving up to try and capture the 155 pound crown on top of his current at 145.

While he’s no longer the champion — thanks to a failed weigh-in at UFC 274 — Brazil’s Charles Oliveira is still viewed as the best Lightweight has to offer, therefore, Volkanovski has already called his name.

“He’s a very tough guy,” Oliveira told The Schmo. “I know he has made history at 145 but everybody who thinks about moving up to 155 has to think very well because it’s a very, very hard division.

“It’s all about timing, to be honest,” he added regarding a potential fight. “Everybody knows that I would like to fight Conor because of the money and everybody knows that I think that Islam has to fight a little bit — at least once before challenging for the title. Now there’s Volkanovski. But the thing is, everybody wants to fight me.”

Losing his title on the scale ahead of his bout with Justin Gaethje in May 2022, Oliveira was unaffected by any of the drama surrounding the bout. Both men met in the center of the cage and threw down in round one. Ultimately, “Do Bronx” came out on top after dropping Gaethje and following him to the ground, sinking in a patented rear-naked choke submission (watch highlights).

Oliveira is guaranteed to be one-half of the imminent vacant Lightweight title, it’s just a matter of who he’ll face and when.

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