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Alexander Volkanovski believes he's the best-ever at 145 lbs but feels he must win a few more fights to achieve GOAT status in the division. Volkanovski says he must have a considerable number of successful title defenses under his belt to be regarded as the greatest featherweight of all time. He has four to his name right now.
According to 'The Great', former champion Jose Aldo is currently the greatest UFC featherweight of all time with seven successful title defenses under his belt. Volkanovski explained that even though the Brazilian's level of competition wasn't as tough as it is now, it is not easy to be consistent over such a long period of time as Aldo was.
For that reason, the Australian hails Aldo as the greatest 145lbs champion of all time. Having said that, Volkanovski believes he's just one or two outstanding performances away from supplanting the Manaus native in that conversation. During a recent interview with TMZ Sports, he stated:
"Do I think I'm the best featherweight ever? Yeah, I do, but I mean to say you're the GOAT, I think a lot more comes into play... So I look at Aldo, I say Aldo's the GOAT to be defending for that long... Obviously the competition probably wasn't what it is now and that's no shot – but I mean that's just facts – but look at what we do, right, training, injuries, weight cuts, there's going to be just days you don't turn up right and to be champion as long as he was... it's pretty impressive."
Watch the interview below:
Alexander Volkanovski believes he can become a champion at 170lbs down the line
Alexander Volkanovski used to weigh in at around 214lbs during his time as a semi-professional rugby player. Thereafter, he gradually kept cutting weight after deciding to pursue a career as a professional fighter. He fought as a welterweight and then lightweight before finally finding a home in the featherweight division.
While he currently sits at the top of the 145lbs division, Volkanovski believes he can be successful in both the lightweight and welterweight divisions down the line. Volkanovski pointed out that he regularly trains with fellow UFC welterweights who are much bigger than him, and he does well against them during sparring sessions.
Alexander Volkanovski says he can even win a title at 170lbs:
"I'll say yeah [I can become a welterweight champion]... I train with a lot of UFC welterweights, right, like high-level guys. Most of my training partners are a lot bigger than me and I hold my own, trust me, I do very well."
