After UFC 276, 5 Possible Opponents for Alex Volkanovski at Lightweight

At UFC 276, Alex Volkanovski didn't leave much room for interpretation.

First, he defeated the great Max Holloway for the third time, dominating the former champ to defend his featherweight title and close the door on their rivalry.

Then, on no uncertain terms, he reiterated his desire to move on to greener, heavier pastures.

"I just proved to you that I want to be in this Octagon as much as possible,” Volkanovski said after Saturday's fight at T-Mobile Arena, per Damon Martin of MMA Fighting. "I want to be busy. I want to move up [to lightweight] and go for double champ, and I'll keep two divisions busy. Charles [Oliveira], whoever gets that belt, no disrespect, I'd love to move up, get that double-champ status."

He's certainly earned the right to try his hand.

After taking out Holloway via unanimous decision in the co-main event, Volkanovski is now 25-1 overall, 12-0 in the UFC and 4-0 in consecutive title defenses. During the performance, he outlanded Holloway (23-7) by a 199-127 margin, a far greater difference than their two previous matchups. If that's not a cleaned-out division, it's pretty darn close.

There are still bows at featherweight; Josh Emmett or the winner of the bout between Yair Rodriguez and Brian Ortega on July 16 come to mind. Another high-profile name who has thrown himself into the ring is Henry Cejudo. But let's hit the brakes on that one right now. As great as the semi-retired Cejudo was, he's still a flyweight who stretched to make bantamweight. He'd be massively undersized against Volkanovski, a featherweight who has competed at welterweight.

In any case, lightweight is clearly Volk's preferred destination, and he wants to go straight to a title shot. The former rugby player should have no trouble adding the requisite mass. However, with the lightweight belt sitting vacant and with an injured hand clouding Volk's return timeline, his request requires a bit of a thought exercise.

Oliveira will likely be one-half of the lightweight title bout whenever it's announced. But who else might be in the mix for Volk at 155 pounds, regardless of whether he gets to cut the line? Here are five possibilities listed in no particular order.

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Charles Oliveira

Let's get the obvious choice out of the way first. You can rearrange Oliveira, Volkanovski, middleweight champ Israel Adesanya and welterweight champ Kamaru Usman at the top of the pound-for-pound list, but no matter how you slice it, this matchup would give you two of the four best fighters on planet Earth.

But here's the rub: Oliveira has repeatedly called for a date with Conor McGregor, whenever McGregor returns from that gruesome leg injury (the general target is early fall).

So that may leave Volkanovski—and everyone else—on the outside looking in when it comes to the lightweight title picture. But there are even more complications. Oliveira recently told Helen Yee Sports that he's willing to move up a weight class if it means securing the McGregor fight. No shade on Oliveira for following the money, but it further complicates the scenarios at 155.

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Dustin Poirier

Poirier appears to be on a collision course with Michael Chandler following a cageside fracas at UFC 276. Still, you know he'd love one or both of the following things to happen: 1) another shot at the lightweight title and 2) something with a lot of zeroes behind it.

A mega-bout with Volkanovski would satisfy the second criterion, and it could satisfy the first if Oliveira is more fixed on McGregor to the point that he'd walk away, if only temporarily, from the division he ruled for roughly a year .

If Poirier and Volkanovski were to lock horns, Poirier's pressure and inside boxing style could limit the effectiveness of Volkanovski's feinting and movement.

No matter what else happens, it would be hard to deny a title shot to the winner between these two.

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Islam Makhachev

Makhachev is often painted as the third wheel in this division's title race after Oliveira and McGregor. Further, guys like Volkanovski and Poirier have much bigger name value. And third, Makhachev is good. Really good. It seems no one wants to touch the Dagestani with a 10-foot pole, given that he and his power wrestling are a threat to anyone and everyone in the division.

Volkanovski could fill the void, especially if the winner were guaranteed a title shot. This is also an intriguing matchup, with Makhachev's grappling posing a major test to Volkanovski's robust takedown defense. If Makhachev gets on top of you on the mat, it's typically curtains.

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Justin Gaethje

No big deal. Just one of the biggest popcorn fights the UFC could make in any division. Gaethje is the wild card on this list, but that's just the way he likes it.

But this is more than surefire violence. How will Volkanovski's power translate to lightweight? How about his wrestling? How about his chin? Gaethje's strength, takedown defense and durability all would pose massive challenges for Volkanovski.

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Conor McGregor

In April, Volkanovski told TMZ Sports that he was indeed interested in facing McGregor once the Irishman returns.

"Oh, yeah. … It's always going to interest a lot of people,” Volkanovski said. "It's always going to be a big fight. There's always going to be money. There's going to be a circus. It's going to be entertaining. It's going to be fun. I'll enjoy that whole f--king thing."

Keep in mind that a date between Oliveira and McGregor is not a fait accompli, no matter how badly Oliveira wants it. There's an argument to be made that Volk is a bigger name than Oliveira, and McGregor's power striking would make for a counterweight to Volkanovski's pressure and volume. Volkanovski has also shown a greater aptitude than Oliveira for playing the hype game—a critical component to facing McGregor.

Ultimately, money talks, and a Volkanovski-McGregor matchup may talk the loudest, regardless of whether a title is even on the line.