If Dustin Poirier doesn’t retire, ex-champ Alexander Volkanovski wants ‘a little dance’ after UFC 302
Itāll be nothing new to Dustin Poirier, but if he decides to stick around in the MMA game a little bit longer, heāll have no shortage of potential opponents while he heads toward the sunset.
Add former featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski to this list of fighters who would sign on the line for a fight with Poirier after UFC 302 on Saturday.
In the main event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., Poirier (30-9 MMA, 22-8 UFC) was submitted in the fifth round by lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (26-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC), who defended his title for the third time, which ties the UFCās record. Poirier, a former interim lightweight champ, had his third shot at an undisputed belt.
After the loss, Poirier said it may have been his final fight. At 35, heās been fighting more than half his life, since he was 17. But Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) let it be known after UFC 302 heād be interested in a fight with Poirier.
In February at UFC 298, Volkanovski lost the featherweight title to Ilia Topuria by second-round knockout. Topuria has been angling for a fight with Max Holloway with the āBMFā belt up for grabs, so Volkanovski may be hedging his bets if a rematch for the title isnāt in the cards.
āMaybe, just maybe, depending on what Iām doing and when ā obviously I want to fight later in the year when I know exactly whatās happening,ā Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel (h/t to Championship Rounds). āI donāt want to wait too long, either. If the timing works, maybe me and Dustin could have a good fight. I know heĀ just wants good, fun fights. Weāve got a lot of respect for each other, and I think that would be a massive fight.
āThatās something that Iād be willing to do while Iām waiting for that featherweight title (shot). Maybe I could get a lightweight fight against someone like a Dustin Poirier, it would be great. You heardĀ it here first. Maybe we can make something happen. Dustin, youāre a legend. Keep your head up. That was a great performance, still. Maybe we could have a little fun in there āĀ have a little dance. Let me know what you think.ā
Alexander Volkanovski calls out Dustin Poirier š
“Maybe depending on what I’m doing, obviously I want to fight later in the yearā¦ if the timing works maybe me and Dustin can have a good fight.
I know he just wants good fun fightsā¦ I think that would be a massive fight soā¦ pic.twitter.com/l7G5LzKga0
ā Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) June 2, 2024
Volkanovski has been adamant that his next fight at featherweight will be a fight for the title he once held. Short of that, heāll fight at lightweight ā where he lost two title shots to Makhachev before he lost his featherweight belt to Topuria.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkieās event hub for UFC 302.
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