World title fight 'promised' to UFC star Volkanovski

Alexander Volkanovski can "guarantee" his next UFC fight will be for the featherweight world title, saying a bout with Ilia Topuria or Max Holloway has been promised to him.

While his opponent has not been locked in, Volkanovski is confident he'll have a shot at reclaiming his world champion status when returning to the octagon on February 9 at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena.

The Wollongong product lost his featherweight belt after Spaniard Ilia Topuria's stunning second-round knockout in February this year.

Volkanovski made his desire for a rematch known but Topuria opted instead to do battle with Max Holloway after the American fighter brilliantly knocked out Justin Gaethje for the unofficial BMF title.

Topuria and Holloway will square off on October 27 in Abu Dhabi.

Determined to bounce back from his third loss in four matches, Volkanovski says his next fight will be with the winner of the Topuria-Holloway fight.

"Fighting for the title - that is what is pretty much promised to me in February," the 36-year-old said on Thursday.

"I will be facing the winner out of Ilia and Max. Quite positively, I can guarantee that.

"I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure I am on that card."

Should he be denied a featherweight belt fight with Topuria or Holloway, Volkanovski said he would be happy to settle for an interim title fight.

Brazilian star Diego Lopes, who recently defeated Brian Ortega to be ranked No.3 in the featherweight division, could be another option.

"Anything with gold, I'll be happy," Volkanovski said.

"If there's injuries or something, I think an interim could be something that might fit Max if he was to win (against Topuria).

"Even if it's interim, that's still a big one. I'd say it'd be an exciting one with Lopes if that was going to happen.

"If, for some reason I can't get a fight, I'll entertain on the DJ decks or something."

Volkanovski has fought only one match this year, last winning in a successful featherweight title defence against Mexican Yair Rodriguez in July 2023.

The Australian fighter notably lost to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev twice last year after accepting a rematch for the belt on 11 days notice in October.

Makhachev, the lightweight champion since October 2022, brutally knocked Volkanovski out in the first round and consigned him to only his second loss since making his UFC debut in 2016.

"That's the game. It's a very competitive sport," Volkanovski said.

"You can't expect a good result every single time. I wouldn't be half the man I am or the champion I was if I didn't take challenges on like that.

"Very, very happy I took on that challenge but after the last couple of losses, I had a bit of a break and now it's time to get that belt back and right the wrongs.

"I'd probably like to compete with Ilia to get that win back, to be quite honest."