The MMA community is debating whether Alexander Volkanovski can deal with a Brian Ortega-like situation if he fights Islam Makhachev or Charles Oliveira. The upcoming UFC 280 event on October 22 will be headlined by grappling wizards Makhachev and Oliveira.
The duo will clash for the vacant UFC lightweight title in a highly anticipated matchup at UFC 280.
Reigning UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has been roped in as the backup/replacement fighter for the bout and will step in if Makhachev or Oliveira withdraw from it due to injury/other reasons.
Intriguingly, back in September 2021, Volkanovski was almost submitted on multiple occasions during his UFC featherweight title fight against Brian Ortega.
To his credit, ‘The Great’ survived the guillotine and triangle submission attempts and defeated Ortega via unanimous decision. On that note, some fans have asserted that Volkanovski won’t survive a potential Ortega-esque situation against Makhachev or Oliveira. Responding to a tweet featuring a video of ‘Volk’ escaping Ortega’s mounted guillotine attempt, one fan wrote:
“If ortega could do this three times then imagine what islam can do”
Moreover, the aforementioned fan and many others reiterated that Islam Makhachev would submit Alexander Volkanovski if he were to catch him as Brian Ortega did:
“Islam would submit him”
Similarly, a fan claimed that Charles Oliveira would submit ‘The Great’ within three rounds in a possible showdown:
“Charles subs him in 3 I’ll die on this hill”
Another Twitter user alluded to the fact that Volkanovski impressively managed to survive the tight submission holds from a highly-skilled BJJ artist like Ortega:
“The fact that volk survived still amazes me”
Furthermore, another Twitter user admitted to being unable to figure out how Volkanovski escaped Ortega’s guillotine and triangle chokes:
“still trying to figure out how Volkanovski got out of that guillotine and triangle”
Is an Alexander Volkanovski UFC lightweight title run on the horizon?
UFC featherweight kingpin Alexander Volkanovski has beaten the who’s who of his weight class and has vowed to become a double-champ by capturing the UFC lightweight title. He’s also consistently maintained that he’d be open to defending both titles.
That said, both Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira are currently healthy and primed to compete for the lightweight belt at UFC 280. Barring any last-minute withdrawal, Alexander Volkanovski is unlikely to fight for lightweight gold at UFC 280.
Nevertheless, the consensus is that ‘Volk’ will likely face the Makhachev-Oliveira winner for the lightweight title in early 2023 and could compete in more lightweight bouts if he captures the belt.
