Alexander Volkanovski Predicts Outcome Of BMF Title Fight, Wants To Fight For It In Case Islam Makhachev Rematch Gets Delayed

Alexander Volkanovski favors Dustin Poirier to beat Justin Gaethje again when the two lightweights meet at UFC 291, and “The Great” also says he’d be interested in fighting for the BMF title that will be up for grabs at that event.

The 34-year-old is hard at work preparing for his featherweight title defense against interim titleholder Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290, but given that he’s coming off a competitive loss to Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev it’s no surprise Volkanovski is still keeping an eye on things in the UFC’s lightweight division.

Poirier and Gaethje are set to headline UFC 291 in a rematch of their epic 2018 clash, and while Volkanovski gives the edge to “The Diamond” he wasn’t willing to discount Gaethje’s chances after his most recent performance.

“If I had to lean towards someone I feel like I’d start leaning towards Poirier,” Volkanovski said on Israel Adesanya’s YouTube channel. “He obviously won the last time they fought, and I think I’d probably lean towards Dustin. But I mean, you can’t tell me that Justin Gaethje can’t catch him. And then you’ve seen even in Justin’s last fight, his fitness held on obviously fighting [Rafael] Fiziev… So he might even be there the whole time, but I just think that Dustin can go the five rounds and he probably gets more and more technical as the fight goes on.”

Alexander Volkanovski Expresses Interest In Fighting For BMF Title 

The revival of the BMF title for the UFC 291 main event has inspired a range of opinions on the legitimacy of the belt, but Volkanovski says he’d be happy to add it to his collection if he was given the opportunity.

“At the end of the day – fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. Who’s the ruler of the badasses? It’s the guys that will fight injured and consistently, guys like Israel Adesanya, like myself…That’s something that I’d love to do, I’d do it anywhere, any place, anytime…Maybe a BMF belt fight while – if Islam is there doing his thing and then we do our immediate rematch after, then I can have three belts. I’d love that. Featherweight, BMF belt, and that lightweight belt.”

“The Great” certainly hasn’t given up on the prospect of a rematch with Makhachev, but the current lightweight title picture has only gotten more complex with the upcoming Gaethje vs. Poirier matchup as well as Charles Oliveira’s tremendous performance at UFC 289 last weekend.

As much as fans may want to see Volkanovski get another crack at double-champ status, the Australian will need to handle business in the featherweight division first. The 34-year-old has already defended his featherweight strap four times, but his matchup with Rodriguez at UFC 290 will see the interim champion come in with significant momentum after he submitted Josh Emmett at UFC 284.

Read Also: Aljamain Sterling Breaks Down Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez, Ready To Fight The Winner (Exclusive)

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