It was almost inevitable that a mixed martial artist as dominant as UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski would eventually come to blows with Conor McGregor. And this past week, after a well-documented history of vague threats (mostly instigated by the latter), a challenge was formally issued via Twitter.
The online exchange kicked off after Volk replied to an ESPN post that basically indicated if he and McGregor ever fought at featherweight, the winner would’ve effectively beaten every single undisputed champion in the division.
“Let’s do it at lightweight,” the reigning featherweight king tweeted with a dynamite emoji.
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Let’s do it at Lightweight 🧨 https://t.co/NhWDOJRAyx
— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) May 30, 2023
Before long, McGregor responded in a series of since-deleted tweets:
“Lol. Afraid? The UFC P4P #1 (ye right) needs weighing scales and specific divisions to compete against me. So who’s really who and what’s what? The BMF title, the baddest jackasses in the sauna title. Little bums. Little one division, never champion bums! Nothin’ bad about yas!”
“Anything. Anywhere. Any weight!” Volkanovski fired back.
“Then why ask for 155 [pounds]. Also, that is my saying,” said McGregor.
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“Yeah you say it, but I did it. I’ve fought at middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, and featherweight,” replied Volkanovski.
While the back-and-forth concluded there, it’s worth noting Alexander Volkanovski retweeted a video uploaded by UFC ANZ in which Conor McGregor ponders the possibility of challenging the homegrown scrapper for the featherweight belt (see: below).
👀 👀@TheNotoriousMMA isn't ruling out a shot at @AlexVolkanovski's FW strap! 🇮🇪🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/3prbgGaPeL
— UFC_AUSNZ (@UFC_AUSNZ) June 1, 2023
Assuming The Great successfully defends his title against interim champ Yair Rodriguez as UFC 290 (International Fight Week), and the Notorious one prevails in his return bout against Bellator transplant and noted banger Michael Chandler (whenever that happens), the match-up would certainly be one for the ages; potentially breaking every single pay-per-view record to date in the process.
Even in the unlikely event that one or both parties record an L, it’d still be something that captures the attention of the entire combat sports world.
Make it happen, Dana White.
