Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski wants to face lightweight titleholder Justin Gaethje in a retirement fight next. UFC CEO Dana White was open to the idea, but not everyone like it.
Former middleweight champion Michael Bisping laid out why he doesn’t want to see the two matched up.
“In the lightweight division, Justin Gaethje has got a clearcut No. 1 contender in Arman Tsarukyan. There’s also Charles Oliveira that he’s lost to that’s fighting Diego Lopes. There’s Max Holloway that he’s lost to. So he’s not in the same kind of – Listen, the man’s a legend, awesome career, but he’s got work to do in the lightweight division,” Bisping said on the Believe You Me Podcast.
“Volkanovski, does he deserve a third shot? I’m not saying he does or he doesn’t, but he’s already had two shots at becoming a lightweight champ. And to be honest, the’s one way legacy for Volkanovski,” added the former champion.
“I’m just saying, if I were Justin Gaethje sitting here right now, I’d be like, well, I’m going to take a chance. I’m going to take a guy that’s coming up a weight class, so it’s win-win for him regardless. And if he were to lose, it’s not the best look and then he loses his belt and then what, retires. … I would understand if Justin Gaethje was hesitant to want to do that.”