In one of the recent interviews, Michael Sonnen openly shared his worries about Alexander Volkanovski who decided to fight for the UFC featherweight title again. According to the veteran, this can negatively affect his career. He has a 26-4 professional MMA record and 13-3 in UFC.
He lost his featherweight title via knockout to Ilia Topuria in a UFC 298 in February this year, and this was his second knockout on the spin. He thought of the possibility of making a move to the lightweight division. He decided to wait for the winner of the Topuria vs Max Holloway fight announced for October 26 UFC 308.
Sonnen Prefers Lightweight Bout for Volkanovski
Sonnen has worked for the UFC as a fighter and now an analyst thought that Alexander Volkanovski should not bounce back to the division. He says he stands to lose more by going after his old title again firstly after two knockouts. Instead, Sonnen thinks a fight at lightweight, for example against Charles Oliveira, would serve the better and carry less risk for his career, he stated;
Volk still wants to come back. Where do we want to put him? Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. I certainly wouldn’t disrespect him, and I don’t believe the UFC would. If he came in and said, ‘I’m a title shot guy, that’s it,’ I believe they would say OK. But he doesn’t want to fight anybody specific. He just wants the title back. That is a different motivation.
Sonnen said he would rather watch the Alexander Volkanovski fight in a particular contest rather than another title fight. He preferred Volkanovski may have a lightweight contest with Oliveira, as it would have been less tense for the Australian and would have been a better fight to make.
Sonnen also cautioned that if he does not win back his featherweight belt it will be catastrophic for his career and reputation. Losing a third consecutive fight, even if it’s non-title, would severely damage his chances of reclaiming his spot in the future.
Alexander Volkanovski’s Lightweight Experience
Alexander Volkanovski has fought at featherweight and recently stepped down to the lightweight division in the UFC 284 fight session. Where he faced the champion in this division, Islam Makhachev. He was able to give Makhachev a stern test but it was not enough as he lost by decision on the scales. At UFC 294, he stepped up at short notice to take on Makhachev in a rematch in which he was knocked out in the first round.
He wants to get the belt again and continue fighting for the championship in the featherweight division. But Sonnen says that a lightweight fight against Charles Oliveira is a more entertaining fighter. He comes with less amount of danger to his legacy. Now, he has to sit and see who emerges a winner between Topuria and Max Holloway who are scheduled to fight in the featherweight division to give him the next opponent to defend his title.
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