Dana White hints at who Ilia Topuria's next challenger will be: 'Who wouldn't want to see that fight?'

Dana White in a post-UFC event press conference. Photo: Reproduction/YouTube/UFC

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Alexander Volkanovsky, who reigned as the featherweight (up to 65,9 kg) belt holder between the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2024, watched from the front row his tormentor putting on a show by knocking out his former rival in a fight for the title that was his for a long time. And although the Australian has been out of the Octagon since February and has suffered two consecutive defeats, Dana White has hinted that he could be the next to challenge Ilia Topuria.

At the press conference after the UFC 308, held in Abu Dhabi, the UFC president highlighted the former champion as a “company man”, willing to help the organization in difficult times, which favored him in the Ultimate's decision to put him as a priority in the line of challengers.

“We’re not going to say no to Volkanovski. When things don’t go your way and you need to call someone, Volkanovski has always been that person. He really has. For him to ask for this fight, I don’t think anyone in this room would say, ‘Oh, that’s ridiculous,’ or ‘absurd.’ Who wouldn’t want to see that fight again?” said Dana White.

Alexander Volkanovski and the featherweight belt

Alexander Volkanovsky won the featherweight title in December 2019 by beating Max Holloway by unanimous decision. Since then, the Australian has defended his title five times, defeating Brian ortega, Chan sung jung, Yair Rodriguez and Holloway on two occasions. However, the “great” lost his crown in the division after being knocked out by Ilia Topuria in February this year.