Aussie UFC Champ Alexander Volkanovski Eyeing Move To Lightweight

Alexander "The Great" Volkanovski is on his way to becoming the featherweight GOAT.

The goal of overtaking Max Holloway and Jose Aldo as the 145-pound king is something he has openly discussed in the past.

And with the way he's going, The Australian's name is certainly in the conversation.

But while defending his featherweight belt until the day he finally hangs up the gloves is something he's stood by, it turns out Volkanovski has another career aim in mind too.

The Australian champ has his sights set on a move up to lightweight.

And while he insists his focus remains solely on his second title defence, the prospect of making a name for himself in the 155 pound division is growing in appeal.

"It is, that is something that I definitely see down the line," Volkanovski told ESPN.

Alexander Volkanovski defeats Max Holloway

"But I don't talk about it because I have jobs to do; I've got goals on my mind.

"But the thing that people have got to realise is that while I might have goals in front of me, they're not my end goals. So my goal might be the belt, it might be defending that belt and my goal is still to defend that [featherweight] belt, but I want to be the best fighter there is, and that is a goal of mine. And to do so, I want to move up and fight [at lightweight] as well."

The Wollongong native is still waiting for his next opponent to put their hand up and challenge him.

From the outside, it looks like former number one contender Brian Ortega could be the man to step up following his victory over Korean Zombie back in October.

And even though a fight isn't set in stone, Volkanovski knows where his short-term focus lies.

"I've got a division that I want to take out," he said.

"I want to be the best the featherweights have seen, so I want a couple of defences here. But I definitely want to squeeze in a lightweight fight as well."

While he looks the business at featherweight, you can definitely understand Volkanovski's reasons for wanting to move up a division.

First and foremost, the weight cut has to be a big factor.

Volkanovski, who used to be a rugby league prop back home in Australia, certainly wouldn't mind cutting 10 pounds less ahead of upcoming UFC fights.

And on top of that, there's a gaping void left by Khabib Nurmagomedov that needs filling.

The lightweight division is crying out for a new face to take the weight class by storm.

Khabib is retired, Bellator fan favourite Michael Chandler still hasn't fought, Justin Gaethje and Tony Ferguson are coming off the back of losses and Conor McGregor still can't decide whether he's a mixed martial artist, professional boxer or alcoholic beverage manufacturer.

There's still plenty big-name talent floating about, but we're waiting for a championship-calibre fighter to take the division by the horns and claim it as their own.

And out of everyone, Volkanovski certainly has the ability to do that.

Topics: Aussie, UFC, Featherweight, Australia, MMA

Max Sherry

Max Sherry is a journalist for SPORTbible Australia. After migrating Down Under from London as a teenager, he instantly fell in love with Aussie sport and its culture. From NRL to AFL, cricket to rugby — you name it, Max watches it (with a beer in hand, of course). During his time at Fox Sports, he worked in the football department covering the Premier League, A-League, Socceroos and Matildas. Born a stone's throw away from West Ham's training ground, Max is obviously a die-hard Liverpool fan.

@maxysherry