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We take a look at potential opponents for UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski following is third successful title defense
Alexander Volkanovski reminded the world that there are levels to this game, and he is truly among the elite in the UFC roaster. In what was a one-sided effort, Volkanovski shut down any threat from the Zombie, and was hitting him at will with whatever weapon he fancied. In the end referee Herb Dean had seen enough of accumulated damage and called an end to the fight, even through Zombie showed the heart of a warrior.
This victory puts the Aussie in an elite category of UFC fighters, becoming one of the only five fighters to start their UFC career at 11-0 or better. Volkanovski joins the likes of MMA royalty Anderson Silva, Khabib Nurmagomeodov, Royce Gracie and Kamaru Usman in this prestigious list.
Volkanovski currently has two victories over the former champion Max Holloway, and has beaten top contenders like Brian Ortega and Korean Zombie. While it will still take some more time for contenders like Calvin Kattar, Yair Rodriguez and Giga Chikadze to emerge as one worthy contender, Max Holloway is the only viable option left for the ‘Volk’ and the UFC.
While both of their previous fights were razor-thin contests, a strong margin from the MMA community believe that Max Holloway won the second fight. A trilogy looks destined at this point since both fighters were originally scheduled to fight on the UFC 273 card.
Another option that might present itself is a fight against former double champion Henry Cejudo, Cejudo even reacted to the main event at UFC 273 and expressed his desire to fight Alexander Volkanovksi and even claimed that he foresees a submission victory for him.
Ahead of UFC 273, Zombie spent most of his camp with Henry Cejudo in preparation for Volkanovski. Although Zombie showed immense heart and courage, he wasn’t given any bandwidth to showcase his improvements by the Aussie.
Henry Cejudo and Volkanovski have gone back and forth several times in the past, with Cejudo even expressing hid desire to go up in weight and challenge the featherweight king. Cejudo will be chasing the coveted and unprecedented ‘Triple Champ’ status by fighting Volkanovski.
Reacting to the main event at UFC 273, Cejudo said,‘ @alexvolkanovski you’ve inspired me to come back. When it comes to wrestling…you couldn’t pin a tweet. I would take you down and choke you out quicker than a McGregor relapse. Sign the contract.’
Cejudo wasted no time in letting his manager know about his hankering for making his return. Ali Abdel Aziz confirmed the news to ESPN correspondent Marc Raimondi.
He also posted a Tweet himself and said,
‘The King @HenryCejudo is back. Hide your wife and hide your kids, nobody is safe.’
ESPN MMA confirmed the news, that Cejudo is reentering the USADA pool. In doing so he will be tested for six months before being declared eligible to fight.
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