Chael Sonnen floats the idea of Alexander Volkanovski stepping in if Charles Oliveira misses weight again - "You're guaranteed to have a world champion when the night is over"

Chael Sonnen recently weighed in on Alexander Volkanovski potentially stepping in for Charles Oliveira if 'do Bronx' misses weight for his UFC 280 clash against Islam Makhachev.

Sonnen noted that if Oliveira were to miss weight, he will be ineligible to become the champion even if he wins and only Makhachev will be contesting for UFC gold. 'The American Gangster' said on his YouTube channel:

"Charles comes in overweight. Charles is not eligible to be become world champion. However, the fight will still take place and Islam is eligible. So if Islam wins the fight, Islam wins the belt."

Oliveira was stripped of his title due to a controversial weight miss ahead of his last fight against Justin Gaethje. While only Gaethje was eligible to win the title, it was 'do Bronx' who walked out with his hands raised, leaving the division without a champion.

Sonnen has suggested an alternative if Oliveira misses weight this time as well. 'The American Gangster' noted that Alexander Volkanovski, the backup fighter for the matchup, could step in for 'do Bronx', guaranteeing us a lightweight champ at the end of the night:

"So I'm gonna re-ask you the scenario. If Charles misses weight by half a pound, would you the audience prefer that Charles vs. Islam was scrapped and that Volkanovski instead fights Islam and you're guaranteed to have a world champion when the night is over?"

Watch Sonnen's comments at the 2:30 mark of the video below:

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Islam Makhchev's coach doesn't see Alexander Volkanovski as a threat

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has long been eyeing a move up to lightweight in a bid to become a double champion. 'The Great' might finally be inching closer to his goal, having been named the backup for the UFC 280 lightweight clash.

However, Islam Makhachev's coach Javier Mendez doesn't consider Volkanovski a threat to the Dagestani contender. According to Mendez, while Makhachev's striking is good enough to deal with Volkanovski, the Australian will have no answer for his wrestling.

The AKA head coach said in an earlier interview with Submission Radio:

“I don’t think [Volkanovski] poses as big a threat to Islam as you would think because he’s such a master of the takedown and Alex isn’t going to be able to stop it, no matter what he does. And Islam’s stand up is so damn good that he can stand with him. So, you know, unless Alex’s ground improves tremendously, I don’t see it as a huge threat to Islam. I see Oliveira as a huge threat, but I don’t see Alex. Only because he ain’t gonna be able to stop Islam from taking it to the ground, and I just don’t think he can handle Islam’s ground game.”

Watch Mendez's appearance on Submission Radio below:

Meanwhile, Alexander Volkanovski has entered a wrestling-heavy camp to train as the backup fighter for the UFC 280 headliner.