Josh Thomson recently opined how UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski would fare in a fight against Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira.
Thomson suggested on an episode of the Weighing In a podcast that the Australian champion would be the underdog against Makhachev and Oliveira at lightweight.
Eugene Bareman, one of Volkanovski’s coaches, recently stated that his pupil would have a more challenging time against Oliveira than Makhachev. This is because ‘do Bronx’ is a more well-rounded fighter than Makhachev, according to Bareman.
Former UFC lightweight Josh Thomson disagreed with Bareman’s remarks, implying that Oliveira isn’t necessarily better than Makhachev. He stated that both grappling savants have vastly improved their striking in recent years, and Makhachev is far more potent on the ground than Oliveira.
“If you’re Volkanovski’s coach, he’s probably going, ‘Man, Oliveira’s probably a tough fight. The speed of latching onto the neck and those type of things.’
Maybe he thinks that Volkanovski can get out from underneath Islam. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but either one of them is going to give him a really, really tough fight.”
“Now Volkanovski, sure, he can land some shots – get in, get out. He’s going to be hard to catch in the beginning because of the speed. But both guys, I think, both guys are going to beat him.”
Thomson then claimed that Volkanovski is capable of defeating both top-ranked lightweights. Thomson believes the 145-pound kingpin lives an athlete’s lifestyle and that neither Makhachev nor Oliveira will be able to trounce him. He recalled that ‘The Great’ was a rugby player and was a true athlete.
Eugene Bareman discusses Alexander Volkanovski’s upcoming trilogy fight against Max Holloway
Since winning the UFC featherweight title in 2019, Alexander Volkanovski has emerged as a dominant figure at the top of the division. Volkanovski has teased a possible move to lightweight after back-to-back wins over Max Holloway and title defences against top contenders Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung.
Before he can consider moving up to 155 pounds, Volkanovski must first win his upcoming trilogy bout with Holloway. In their first two fights in 2019 and 2020, ‘The Great’ defeated his Hawaiian opponent by unanimous and split decisions. Their trilogy fight will be on July 2nd at UFC 276.
Eugene Bareman, Alexander Volkanovski’s coach, praised Holloway for adjusting to trouble ‘The Great’ in their rematch on Submission Radio. Bareman predicts a more dominant win for Volkanovski in the trilogy matchup:
“This fight is gonna be nothing like the second fight. Alex kind of played different chess moves that he used in the first fight. Max came back with a really good strategy and some really good tactics.”
