It is possible that the first defense of Alexander Volkanovsky’s second championship rule will be set up.
The UFC 319 co-main event created a battle for potential No. 1 competitors, with Leron Murphy mentioning his case in uncertain terms with Aaron Pico’s unrealistic first-round spinback elbow knockout. Murphy was undefeated in 17 professional matches, including the UFC’s 9-0-1 mark, and his Pico finish could drive him to the much-anticipated title shot.
Volkanovski backed Murphy’s callout on social media, and Murphy responded to the gesture at a postwar press conference on Saturday, saying, “December is perfect to share with Volkanovski, one of the octagonal goats.”
For now, the champions agree.
“I think that’s a little easier,” Volkanovsky said on his YouTube channel. “December is cool. There was a previous date that probably didn’t work for the people fighting now anyway, so the later dates are always good for me anyway, and for my potential enemies in the future, December appears to be there.”
Murphy is not the only featherweight contender in a long winning streak. The undefeated Movsar Evloev was expected to actually fight Pico, but that match failed to happen after Evloev was able to intervene.
Volkanovski actually thought he would defend Evlov after defeating Diego Lopez for an empty belt in UFC 314, but he expects the matchmaker to move on after Murphy’s impressive victory.
“A lot of people will be like, ‘Movsar should be there,'” Volkanovski said. “I tried to make it happen. I thought he deserved it, he deserved it, he made this fight, and I, he would have to do this fight, and he definitely pulled it out and you know the UFC just like that. You can’t fight, I don’t know, but it doesn’t look like it would become a Movsar.
“I’ve tried them all and it looks like Lerown Murphy, which makes a lot of sense.
Volkanovski has confirmed that he is paying close attention to Saturday’s joint main event, but has yet to hear any official words about who he is fighting against. Despite Pico making his UFC debut, the memorable 28-year-old finish may have been enough to set up a date with Volkanovsky, especially considering Pico’s reputation as an all-action fighter during his time with Bellator.
For Volkanovski, building his next fight is strictly a number game.
“I was looking at this,” Volkanovsky said. “Did you know that the winner of this is fighting for the title? No, I don’t have a clear answer yet, but at least he said he thought he was going to knock me out and protest me.
“It could have been Lerown Murphy. It could have been Pico. If he had beaten Diego, it could have been Silva. You don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know. I’m going to put out a feeler with everyone.