Midnight Mania! Alexander Volkanovski open to super fight vs. Aljamain Sterling ... if he defeats Sean O’Malley

Welcome to Midnight Mania!

This weekend (Sat. July 8, 2023), Alexander Volkanovski will pursue his fifth UFC title defense opposite interim kingpin Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC 290 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Most recently, Volkanovski attempted to claim double champion status, jumping up to Lightweight in a bid to upset Islam Makhachev.

Close but no cigar.

As the reigning Featherweight king, Volkanovski has a lot on his plate if he’s able to get passed “Pantera.” He wants a rematch with Makhachev, but there are also Featherweight elites rising through the ranks like Ilia Topuria. Then, there’s Aljamain Sterling, the reigning Bantamweight kingpin who’s planning to move up to 145 lbs. after his next title defense.

Fortunately for “Funkmaster,” Volkanovski confirmed that he’s open to that fight. Provided Sterling does defeat Sean O’Malley at UFC 292, Volkanovski is willing to grant him a title shot.

“Yeah for sure,” Alexander Volkanovski responded when asked about fighting Sterling (via BJPenn.com). “I think if he goes out there and takes out Sean, he’s definitely paid his dues. How many title defenses would that be? Four? Yeah, so there you go.”

He continued, “I think so, he’s a big dude. But obviously, he’s got a tough, tough fight ahead of him. But yeah, that’s another possible fight. There are plenty of options, and again I want to be active. So cool, keep it rolling.”

In short, there’s an awful lot on the line for Sterling in August.

LIVE! Watch UFC 293 PPV On ESPN+ Here!

MASSIVE MIDDLEWEIGHT MATCH! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) makes its highly anticipated return to Sydney, Australia, for the first time in five years on Sat., Sept. 9, 2023, with a 185-pound world title fight inside Qudos Bank Arena. In the ESPN+-streamed pay-per-view (PPV) main event, Middleweight roost-ruler, Israel Adesanya, plans to silence No. 5-seeded contender, Sean Strickland. In UFC 293’s hard-hitting Heavyweight co-main event, No-6-ranked fan favorite, Tai Tuivasa, locks horns with towering Russian, Alexander Volkov (No. 8).

Don’t miss a single second of EPIC face-punching action!

• STREAM UFC 293

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Sleep well Maniacs! More martial arts madness is always on the way.