Alexander Volkanovski has revealed the one big name he wishes was on his record – and it’s a clash with the UFC’s biggest-ever star.
Few fighters in UFC history have built a body of work as complete as Volkanovski, who has dominated a division in a way not many in the sport have been able to do.
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Most of the opponents from his era have since moved on — through retirement or moving up in weight — leaving the Windang Warrior as one of the last men standing.
Speaking candidly on his YouTube channel on Wednesday, the featherweight champ said a fight with Irish superstar Conor McGregor is the one UFC legend he wishes he had fought.
“I’ve always said Conor,” Volkanovski said.
“I’ve always said Conor because he was a featherweight champion.
“Back in the day I had [Jose] Aldo and Max [Holloway], you had interim champions like Yair Rodriguez.
“Obviously, you got all the hype around that fight and all that sort of stuff as well, the circus around it, which would be cool.
“So, I’ve always said, him… I’ve always said, Conor McGregor.”
Volkanovski also weighed in on one of the sport’s most hotly debated topics – naming his personal top five greatest fighters of all time.
While most fans automatically put Jon “Bones” Jones at the top, Volkanovski left the former heavyweight champ off entirely.
“Top five UFC GOATs, I’m gonna be completely honest, Demetrious Johnson, I don’t know how many title fights he won, the competition and level at flyweight, I don’t think people understand, it is so competitive,” Volkanovski said.
“Georges St-Pierre. Who else have we got? Man, you know what, I think Islam (Makhachev) has done enough to put himself in that conversation, I think I would put him there.
“This might be bias but I’m gonna throw in Israel Adesanya. You’ve got to remember who he’s beat, beating Robert Whittaker in his prime twice.
“You’ve got Anderson Silva obviously, who has done incredible things as well and again, we have got to look at the timing as well. People might say it’s bias but alright, I’m bias anyway but I’m throwing Izzy in there.”
Volk also gave a nod to Khabib Nurmagomedov as an honourable mention, explaining that he ultimately sided with former foe Islam Makhachev due to the strength of his resume.
On the topic of Makhachev, Volk revealed that his loss to the Russian in Perth is his favourite fight.
The bout, which headlined UFC 284 in front of a packed home crowd, saw Volk step up a division in a bid to become a two-weight champion.
While he ultimately fell short on the scorecards, the Aussie pushed Makhachev to the limit in a fight that some thought he won.
“Favourite fight I’ve ever been in…I did enjoy – obviously I lost the Islam fight, the first one, but I really enjoyed that,” Volkanovski said.
“I love the fact that through that fight – when it comes to scrambling, I am usually good with the takedown defense…but the fact that he was able to go all them steps with me, I found that it was a bit of a chess match.
“That’s something that I really appreciated. I was able to go so deep with the wrestling, grappling side of things.”
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Looking ahead, Volkanovski is waiting for top featherweight contenders Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev to settle their business in London this weekend, with the champ widely tipped to face the winner.
He said earlier in the year that Evloev is the man he is keenest to get his hands on.
“I’m going off just fighting, that’s it,” Volkanovski told Demetrious Johnson about his interest in taking on Evloev.
“But there’s so much more, right? There’s pay-per-views, who you are, hype around you, how many finishes. We know that, and that’s why I’m like, ‘I’ll fight anyone.’
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“But then you ask me who I would be most excited for, it probably would be Movsar in the fact that he deserves it.
“He’s undefeated,” Volkanovski continued. “The last undefeated guy I lost to, so I haven’t been able to take someone’s zero yet. So there’s another reason.”