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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Nolan King

Dana White: ‘It makes sense’ Alexander Volkanovski will get lightweight title shot vs. UFC 280 main event winner

As UFC 280 looms large, Alexander Volkanovski finds himself in solid standing to soon get a crack at the lightweight title.

The current UFC featherweight champion, Volkanovski (25-1 MMA, 12-0 UFC) has made it known he’s out to secure a second strap and become the sixth double champion in promotion history to hold two titles at the same time.

In case there are any questions about Volkanovski’s closeness to challenging for the UFC lightweight title, Dana White indicated Monday that the featherweight titleholder will likely be next man up.

“Well, it makes sense. It makes sense,” White said in an interview with Barstool Sports.

While lightweight contender Beneil Dariush claims he has status as a backup fighter Saturday for the UFC 280 main event between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev, so does Volkanovski, who announced he’ll be the backup weighing in Friday in Abu Dhabi.

Widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today, Volkanovski has successfully defended the featherweight title four times. He has not lost in the UFC and rides a 22-fight winning streak.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 280.

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