UFC-ийн хагас хөнгөн жингийн шилдэг тулаанч Александр Волкановски хөнгөн жингийн аваргын бүсийг сонирхож байгаагаа илэрхийлжээ.
Өнгөрсөн бямба гарагт болсон UFC 333 тэмцээнд Александр Волкановски өмнө нь ялагдал хүлээж байгаагүй Мовсар Евлоевыг хоёрдугаар раундад техникийн нокаутаар буулган авснаар жингийнхээ шилдэг гэдгээ дахин нотолсон юм. Өдгөө 38 настай Австрали тулаанч карьерынхаа төгсгөлд хөнгөн жингийн аварга Жастин Гейжитэй тулалдаж, зодог тайлах хүсэлтэй байгаагаа удаа дараа илэрхийлсэн. Хэрэв Гейжи энэ тулаанаас татгалзаж, зодог тайлах шийдвэр гаргавал Волкановски хөнгөн жингийн аваргын бүсний төлөө Арман Царукянтай тулалдах сонирхолтой байгаагаа мэдэгджээ.
Арман Царукян ч мөн Волкановскитой тулалдахад бэлэн байгаагаа илэрхийлсэн бөгөөд түүнийг хэдийн нас ахиж, хамгаалалт суларсныг онцолсон байна. Волкановски өөрийнх нь эсрэг бөх барилдааны ур чадвартай өрсөлдөгчид хүндрэл учруулж чадахгүй гэдэгт итгэлтэй байгаагаа илэрхийлээд, Царукяны бөх болон зогсоолын тулааны ур чадварыг хүндэтгэж буйгаа нэмж хэлэв.
Одоогоор UFC-ийн зүгээс Гейжигийн ирээдүйн тулааны талаар тодорхой шийдвэр гараагүй байгаа бөгөөд Волкановски хөнгөн жин рүү өгсөж, аваргын төлөө өрсөлдөх боломжоо нээлттэй үлдээлээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 19: Arman Tsarukyan of Georgia prepares to face Mauricio Ruffy of Brazil in a lightweight fight during the UFC 331 event at Crypto.com Arena on September 19, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Alexander Volkanovski shut down the featherweight GOAT debate on Saturday night by dismantling the previously undefeated Movsar Evloev. Many thought Evloev represented one of the most serious challengers to Volkanovski’s 145 lbs. supremacy, but at UFC 333 Volkanovski stuffed and reversed Evloev’s takedowns and then cracked him in the head until he’d had enough.
The win made it easy to forget that Volkanovski is 38 years old and is not much longer for this sport. The Australian future Hall of Famer knows his time in the cage is limited, too. And he’s been very vocal about what he wants to see happen next.
Volkanovski has repeatedly stated his desire for a double retirement fight with UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje. Volkanovski wants that fight to happen at lightweight and be for Gaethje’s belt. He also said he’s happy to vacate the featherweight title to make it happen.
Dana White likes the plan, but things are awfully quiet with Gaethje right now.
Gaethje is a front-runner for Fighter of the Year after beating Paddy Pimblett to take the interim title, and usher in the Paramount Plus era, and then unifying the belt with an incredible performance against Ilia Topuria on the White House lawn.
Gaethje has sounded unsure about what he wants to do next. He’s got Arman Tsarukyan sitting in the wings as a number one contender, but ‘The Highlight’ has suggested he wants legacy fights or perhaps to step away entirely.
If Gaethje’s not interested in defending against Tsarukyan or a legacy fight with Volkanovski, last weekend’s big winner has a perfect plan.
Volkanovski told Yahoo! this week that, should Gaethje want to retire, he’ll step up to lightweight and fight Tsarukyan for the belt.
“If Gaethje doesn’t want to do that, I’ll do it,” he said. “Me versus Arman for the belt. That excites me. You’ve got Ilia and Paddy that are in a great position, but that’s a great fight [between them]. So if you needed a title fight, Arman and myself.”
Volkanovski said he was excited to fight Tsarukyan because he has a lot of respect for his skills, as was demonstrated a few months ago when Tsarukyan brained Mauricio Ruffy with an elbow from hell.
“Arman’s a great fighter. I would absolutely love that [fight],” Volkanovski continued. “Everyone knows how I do against wrestlers. Everyone knows I can handle wrestlers. I believe that even as good as Arman is, I think he’s one of the best wrestlers and grapplers in the UFC, you ain’t holding me down. Even Arman. I’ve got so much respect for him, but I’m getting back up, and we’re standing and fighting. But he’s got good stand-up, so that’ll be a fun fight.”
Tsarukyan probably doesn’t balk at this plan. He said earlier this week that he would fight Volkanovski, who he said was “old” and had a “bad chin”. Tsarukyan said that after saying he felt Gaethje was ducking him.
Volkanovski is one of the few fighters in the sport who might have earned the right to call his shot with the UFC. Unfortunately for him, this particular request has a lot of moving parts to it. Personally, I’d love to see Volkanovski vs. Gaethje in a big tentpole event that brings both their careers to an end.
What about you?
