Alexander Volkanovski Ignores Ex-Champ to Admit Only 2 Challengers Remain in UFC’s 2025 Plans

Diego Lopes really gave a backhanded response to the oddsmakers who had Jean Silva as the favorite ahead of their fight at UFC Noche. It took just a couple of rounds for the former title contender to shut down the Fighting Nerds star and return to the winning column after his UFC 314 loss. Well, that win has led Alexander Volkanovski to react and speak about the possibility of facing Lopes once again.

‘The Great’ claims that there are quite a few contenders for the belt at the moment. Besides Diego Lopes, he also mentioned Lerone Murphy‘s name, who scored a thunderous knockout over Aaron Pico. So, Alexander Volkanovski is not sure about who gets to fight for the belt next, but he wasn’t dismissing the possibility of fighting Lopes for a second time, as he appears to be in the good books of the UFC’s matchmaking team.

“I think the UFC were waiting to see what happens with Jean Silva and Diego [Lopes]. I know Lerone Murphy’s obviously one guy that’s coming off of a big KO against [Aaron] Pico. I obviously said to that one, ‘Yeah, see ya later,’ but then we were waiting around to see what happened with this fight. So, I don’t know,” said Alexander Volkanovski on his YouTube channel. “Does Diego get a rematch [with] a crazy win like that? Wild fashion again. I know the UFC absolutely loves him. Whether they push for him, we’ll see what happens.”

Interestingly, former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling has also been calling for a title shot after his last win. But Alexander Volkanovski does not see him in the title picture. So, what does this mean? But wait a minute! It appears that Sterling has an idea.

Aljamain Sterling proposes a title eliminator fight for a shot at Alexander Volkanovski

Alexander Volkanovski may have ignored Aljamain Sterling, but the former bantamweight champion wasn’t being silent after Diego Lopes’s win. His move to the featherweight division has been a great one, as he has two wins and one loss as a 145er. After witnessing Diego Lopes’s win over Jean Silva, Sterling shared a genius idea, which could be something that the UFC’s matchmaking team may find interesting.

Aljamain Sterling claims that there is no better fight to find the next contender for Alexander Volkanovski’s title than putting him inside the Octagon against Diego Lopes to determine ‘The Great’s next challenger. “Winner gets the title shot. RUN IT,” ‘Funk Master’ wrote on Threads. Will Dana White listen to the former bantamweight champion? Well, only time will tell.

While we wait to see who’s next for Alexander Volkanovski, what do you think about the idea proposed by Aljamain Sterling? Should Dana White book him and Diego Lopes for a title eliminator fight? Let us know in the comments section below.