UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski looks set to close out another year with the 145-pound gold still in his possession.
Volkanovski has occupied the throne since December 2019, when he unseated the great Max Holloway in a close and competitive contest. Since then, the Australian has maintained his grip on the belt through five defenses.
In addition to withstanding two challenges from Holloway, “Alexander the Great” has turned away threats from Brian Ortega, “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung, and Yair Rodríguez.
aving defeated plenty of top contenders in the featherweight division, Volkanovski has been called out in the past by a number of fighters outside the weight class.
That’s included former two-division UFC champ Henry Cejudo, who expressed interest in challenging for a history-making third title prior to his unsuccessful return against Aljamain Sterling this past May.
Nevertheless, “Triple C” still boasts high ambitions in the sport, and he recently broke down the game of his long-desired featherweight debut opponent.
Henry Cejudo: Alexander Volkanovski ‘Plays With Fire’ Too Much
During a video recently uploaded to his YouTube channel, Henry Cejudo assessed Volkanovski’s strengths and weaknesses.
Despite the Aussie remaining unbeaten at 145 pounds, the ex-flyweight and bantamweight titleholder insisted that Volkanovski’s game is not without its holes, one of which is his habit of getting into troubling positions.
“He does put himself in these bad positions,” Henry Cejudo said. “We talk about that fight with (Brian) Ortega, he literally put himself in that guillotine choke, and he decided to go back in there and he did it again! This guy is willing to play with fire, and there’s gonna come a time where he’s eventually gonna get burned.
“Or I go back to him being put in the same position against Islam Makhachev, when Islam took his back and literally he couldn’t get out. That was round after round,” Henry Cejudo continued. “I’m just letting you know, he likes kind of playing with fire. So I feel like when Alexander does maybe take an L, it might be just because of submission or potentially a knockout.”
Volkanovski locked horns with Ortega at UFC 266 in 2021, with the pair colliding following a coaching battle on The Ultimate Fighter. While the champ earned a lopsided unanimous decision, he was forced to escape two tight submission attempts in round three.
Since getting past “T-City,” however, the Aussie standout has only increased his dominance in the division, with his defenses opposite Jung, Holloway, and Rodríguez being largely one-sided.
“Alexander the Great” will look to continue that trend early next year, when he’s expected to meet the undefeated Ilia Topuria.
