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Alexander Volkanovski won the UFC featherweight strap from Max Holloway at UFC 245 and successfully defended it against 'Blessed' at UFC 251. After his most recent title defense against Brian Ortega at UFC 266, Volkanovski hinted at a move up to lightweight.
Israel Adesanya's coach Eugene Bareman recently admitted that Volkanovski would be a legitimate threat to a lot of guys at 155 lbs. However, Bareman also emphasized that the move would have to be a planned one and he would probably discuss it with Volkanovski's trainer, Joe Lopez. Speaking of Alexander Volkanovski's potential move up to 155 lbs, Bareman told Submission Radio:
"He would give a lot of guys a lot of trouble in that division. Um, I mean if that ever happened then me and Joe [Lopez] would get together and the other coaches. And definitely that would have to be quite intricate plan I feel. There would have to be a lot of planning to go into that. I feel like the best route to take would be some specific matches on your way there. As much as it's great, sometimes you have enough pull to jump straight into a title fight. And there's advantages to that and there's also many advantages you can gain form slowly building yourself into that title fight and into that weight division."
Watch Eugene Bareman's interview with Submission Radio below:
Alexander Volkanovski wants to clear out the featherweight division before moving up
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has always been open about his desire to move up to lightweight. However, the Australian is willing to change weight classes only for a 'big money' fight or a title shot.
Alexander Volkanovski also revealed that he wants to 'sort' the featherweight division before moving up to 155 lbs. Volkanovski recently told the Herald Sun:
"Obviously, I’m not just going to move up for anyone. It has to be a big money fight, or a fight for the belt. And if the lightweight champ [Oliveira] was waiting around right now it would be good to go. But he’s not. So, I’ll go defend the featherweight belt again, earn GOAT status in my division and then I can move up after that. If I defend my belt again, then I definitely deserve a shot at that double champ status. And moving up has always been something I’ve wanted to do. But I just have to sort my division first. So, after my next fight if I’m waiting for a new number one contender, then maybe I can go dance at lightweight then come back down."
