Alexander Volkanovski has recently been challenged by featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez.
In a tweet posted by Rodriguez, ‘El Pantera’ claimed that Volkanovski and him had agreed to a match-up between them and went onto ask ‘The Great’ if he was ‘a man of his word.’
Check out the tweet below:
The Twitter callout comes after the reigning UFC featherweight champion put out a tweet of his own in which he addressed Makhachev, asking him to “make it happen” and if he was a ‘man of his word.’
After UFC 280 there has been strong speculation that Makhachev will face ‘The Great’ next after the Dagestani called for a pound-for-pound superfight in Australia at UFC 284.
The 34-year-old, who was in the audience at UFC 280, responded to Makhachev’s callout by stepping into the octagon and agreeing to fight the Dagestani for the lightweight title as well as the the pound-for-pound (P4P) number one spot.
During the UFC 280 post-fight press conference, Dana White seemed on board with the idea of Volkanovski going up a division to fight for the lightweight strap. The UFC president commented on Makhachev’s next potential opponent, saying:
“Obviously, looks like Volkanovski’s next… He never ceases to amaze me”
With all the signs pointing towards ‘The Great’ fighting Makhachev next, the timing of Rodriguez’s call-out is intriguing. It remains to be seen if the UFC does book a fight between Rodriguez and the reigning featherweight champion in the near future.
Dan Hooker backs Alexander Volkanovski against Islam Makhachev
Dan Hooker recently spoke in an interview with SubmissionRadio about his opinion on the potential fight between Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev.
Hooker endorsed his City Kickboxing Gym (CKB) teammate, stating that Makhachev would be “in for a whole lot of trouble” and that his teammate would be an “incredibly difficult man to hold on the ground.”
According to Hooker, Makhachev and Khabib called out the featherweight champion immediately after winning the belt because they saw it as an opportunity to potentially win the featherweight title as well as gain the pound-for-pound number one spot.
Interestingly, Hooker fought Makhachev at UFC 267 on short notice, replacing Rafael dos Anjos, but was beaten in the first round via submission. The New Zealand native has stated in the past that he found Makhachev’s claim for a title shot to be “Wild,” after beating two fighters who fought on short notice.
Dan Hooker will face off against Claudio Puelles on November 12 at UFC 281 in a lightweight bout. The 32-year-old will fight on the same card as his CKB teammate Israel Adesanya, who’s looking to defend his middleweight title.
