Volkanovski open to potential McGregor title fight

Alexander Volkanovski could see a matchup with UFC star Conor McGregor down the road if the latter defeats Michael Chandler in his return bout.

The current featherweight champion, Volkanovski has an opportunity to become a title holder in two divisions if he can defeat Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title at UFC 284. Should he do that, Volkanovski says a McGregor victory over Chandler could make the MMA star a potential opponent in the future.

"That just puts Conor right back in the conversations for the belt and all that type of stuff," Volkanovski said. "For people to say he wouldn’t deserve it and there’s no way they're going to do that, you’re pretty crazy, right? It’s Conor McGregor, and if he takes out someone like Chandler, you know his name is going to be mentioned. You know people are going to be talking about him.

"It's good to look at because I plan on taking that lightweight belt. I'm looking at seeing what's happening in the division. There's a lot of potential matchups after this one, but obviously, first I gotta worry about what's in front of me."

The promotion announced earlier this week that McGregor will serve as a coach on "The Ultimate Fighter 31" alongside Chandler. The two will later compete in the Octagon, which will mark McGregor's first UFC contest since July 2021.

Volkanovski argued that McGregor would be in contention for a title shot based on his drawing power.

"At the end of the day, it is Conor McGregor," Volkanovski noted. "When you pull in those types of numbers, you’ve got to remember, he is always taking on the good guys as well, like the good fighters, so he’s always stepping up and taking on dangerous fighters.

"If it was anyone else, I'd say there's no way, right?"