Efter helgens seger över den tidigare mästaren Max Holloway berättar mästaren Alexander Volkanovski att han kan tänka sig en match mot Henry Cejudo, men endast för rätt summa pengar.
Under helgen som gick lyckades Alexander Volkanovski försvara sin fjäderviktstitel mot den tidigare mästaren Max Holloway genom en kontroversiell domslutsseger. Efter matchen kunde Volkanovski se sig utmanad av den tidigare dubbelmästaren Henry Cejudo och Volkanovski accepterar utmaningen men endast om han får tillräckligt med betalt.
Kan tänka sig match mot Henry Cejudo
Under presskonferensen efter galan berättade Volkanovski att han framförallt är intresserad av att försvara sin titel mot välförtjänta utmanare i fjädervikt. Samtidigt är han villig att acceptera en match mot Cejudo under förutsättningarna att han betalas tillräckligt bra.
He’s done great things in his divisions. I’ve got nothing but respect for the man. But at the same time, me fighting him ain’t helping my legacy. I want No. 1 contenders. If I want to be the GOAT, I’ve got to take out No. 1 contenders. If someone’s going to cut in front of the line like Cejudo, pay me the money and maybe we can make it happen. You’ve got to make it worthwhile for me, because I want GOAT status. Taking Henry Cejudo doesn’t really help that. People are going to know I’m expected to win that. No disrespect to him. But this is a whole different league up here with these big boys. If the fight were to ever happen, I’ll show this ain’t his division.
Litar på ringhörnans omdöme
Volkanovski uttalade sig även om mötet med Holloway och han litar på sin ringhörna när det kommer till poängen i matchen då de sa att matchens tredje rond var jämn men att Volkanovski borde ha vunnit den.
They were saying it’s up to the third round. That third round was close, but we think you’ve done enough.’ They’re realists. They’re going to tell me how it is. I was pretty confident I did enough in that third round, and the judges thought so as well. This is a crazy sport. For you to come back from being down and not being able to get yourself going and then waking yourself up and being c’mon, you’ve got to bring this belt back to your family, it shows you what type of champion you are.
Kände sig inte helt hundra
Volkanovski kände sig inte heller helt hundra då han natten innan match stördes av en oannonserad dopingkontroll av USADA.
I don’t want to make excuses, but there were a few things that were a bit off. Getting woken up for USADA wasn’t a great start. I don’t know what was the go with that. Playing with my sleep was pretty brutal on fight night. I’ve been sleeping at 7, so at 9, 10 o’clock they decided to come and wake me up to do a USADA test. I don’t know what happened with that. But there were a few things I wasn’t really happy with. My shin was still sore from my last fight, so I had to get over that. It was hard to break his rhythm early. He adjusted to that, but then I had to use them anyway, so it hurt. But we got the job done. That’s what champions are all about.
Mötet mellan Volkanovski och Holloway ägde rum den 11:e juli på UFC 251 och Volkanovski stod som vinnare via ett delat domslut efter 5 ronder.
