Jon Anik believes that Alexander Volkanovski can move away from all the other featherweights in the UFC 314.
Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) and Diego Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) will compete for vacant titles at the main event on Saturday (ESPN+Pay-Per-View, ESPN/Disney+, ESPN+) at Kaseya Center in Miami.
The former five-time defending featherweight champion will consider regaining the title after losing to Ilia Topuria in a knockout at UFC 298. If Volkanovski succeeds, Anik solidifies his position as the biggest featherweight ever.
“The way you, me and others feel about Diego Lopez is defeating Diego Lopez now to regain the throne in all the back ends Volkanovsky did and for me he solidifies him as every decorated featherweight champion,” Annik told MMA Junkie. “I think it’s hard to have the company with Jose Aldo because I can barely be in the room with guys, so I get hit with a star.
Jose Aldo was faced with a similar situation as Volkanovsky. “The King of Rio” was able to win the interim title, where he defended the UFC featherweight title seven times in his first reign, and after beating Frankie Edgar in the UFC 200, he was promoted to an incontroversial title.
However, Annick sees Volkanovsky topped it and tearing the rope.
“We’ll see what happens,” Anik said. “If he can get it at Diego Lopez, he’ll have a hard time discussing Jose Aldo.”
Volkanovski tries to rebound after consecutive knockout losses to UFC lightweight champions Islam Makhachev and Topuria. Not only is he opposed to statistics that fighters have low win rates at age 35 and older, but it is 0-5 for fighters to enter the title match from consecutive losses.
“It would be interesting to see a version of Volkanovski appear here,” Anik says. “One segment of the critic base that fans and believe this holiday will bring out Alexander Volkanovsky may not have led the league in the MMA miles per UFC.
“And that’s why they play the game. I tend to lean more towards getting Prime Folkanovsky, and the problem might be that Diego Lopez is an absolute killer.
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