Alexander Volkanovski views Aljamain Sterling as potential upcoming opponent at 145lbs
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski views UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling as a potential upcoming opponent at 145lbs.
Volkanovski takes on Yair Rodriguez this Saturday night at UFC 290 in a featherweight title unification bout. The champ Volkanovski is a big favorite to defend his title, and should he get past Rodriguez like the betting odds suggest he will do, then it will certainly be interesting to see who his next title defense comes against later this year or next.
One of those potential opponents is Sterling, the UFC bantamweight champ who has mentioned in the past that he may move up to 145lbs in the future. Sterling takes on Sean O’Malley in the main event of UFC 292 in August, and should he win that fight, then there is a good chance that Sterling will want to move up in weight and take on Volkanovski.
Although Volkanovski still has work to do against Rodriguez this weekend at UFC 290, he was asked by the media ahead of the event about potentially fighting Sterling, and he admits that there is a chance this fight could be an option.
“If (Sterling) goes down there and takes out Sean, I think he’s definitely paid his dues. How many title defenses would that be? Three or four. There you go. I think so. He’s a big dude. But yeah, he’s got a tough fight ahead of him. But that’s another possible fight. There’s plenty of options,” Volkanovski said (via MMAjunkie.com).
It will be interesting to see what the UFC does here with Volkanovski and Sterling should both men win their upcoming title defenses. If both men have impressive showings, do not be surprised if this is the next title fight at 145lbs, even though there are still contenders at featherweight such as Ilia Topuria who are waiting out there for a title shot.
Do you want to see Alexander Volkanovski fight Aljamain Sterling, and who do you think would win the fight?
