Coach: Alexander Volkanovski to be out 6-8 weeks due to surgery
Following his impressive third-round round TKO victory over Yair Rodriguez this past weekend at UFC 290 to retain his UFC featherweight title, Alexander Volkanovski admitted he’d be sidelined due to surgery, but the timetable isn’t as long as speculated. Speaking to Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes, Volkanovski’s coach Joe Lopez revealed that Volkanovski should be sidelined 6 to 8 weeks due to surgery on his elbow.
Spoke to coach Joe Lopez (In Spanish): He expects Alexander Volkanovski to recover in 6 to 8 weeks after elbow surgery but they are open to all the options, rematch with Makhachev, Topuria and even Sterling if he moves up before the end of the year.
Via @ESPNDeportes pic.twitter.com/1Y391ND5LC
— Carlos Contreras Legaspi 🦁 (@CCLegaspi) July 9, 2023
The timeline on a potential return for Alexander Volkanovski would potentially put him ready to return to training around mid-to-late August, but that would also depend on when the surgery is complete. There is heavy attention on the developing situation for Volkanovski as he could line up to once again face lightweight champion Islam Makhachev who is slated to compete at the PPV event in October for the UFC’s Abu Dhabi card.
On top of discussing the injury for the featherweight champion, Volkanovski’s coach also laid out potential opponents for his return and there are several options they are considering. The first, which Volkanovski discussed in his post-fight interview, taking another run at Makhachev who narrowly defeated Volkanovski earlier this year.
Another option is taking on one of the rising contenders in the division, Ilia Topuria who is 14-0 as a professional and coming off a dominant unanimous decision victory over former interim title challenger, Josh Emmett. Following his victory at UFC 290, Alexander Volkanovski was captured on camera facing off with Topuria on his way back to the locker room, building even more interest in a future showdown between them.
If neither Topuria or Makhachev are available, there is also Aljamain Sterling, the reigning bantamweight champion who is slated to defend his title against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292 in August. Previously, Sterling has mentioned a potential move up from bantamweight to featherweight, due to physical toll of cutting weight and more importantly, his good friend and top contender Merab Dvalishvili who has positioned himself for an upcoming future title fight.
Alexander Volkanovski has no shortage of options when he does return and according to his coach, the wait may not be long as the surgery is expected to sideline him for a minimal amount of time.
