Alex Volkanovski’s march towards the UFC featherweight title is set to take a giant leap forward.
Volkanovski (19-1) will fight former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo (28-4) at UFC 237 in Rio De Janeiro on May 12th (AEDT).
The card is set to be headlined by Rose Namajunas defending her strawweight title against Jessica Andradge. This would mean the matchup between Volkanovski and Aldo would be a three-round affair.
🚨 CONFIRMED 🚨
🏆 @RoseNamajunas 🆚 🇧🇷 @JessicaMMAPro
🇧🇷 @JoseAldoJunior 🆚 🇦🇺 @AlexVolkanovski
🇺🇸 @KillaGorillaMMA 🆚 🇧🇷 @SpiderAnderson #UFC237 in Rio is heating up 🔥 pic.twitter.com/itbbIwiP9R— UFC (@ufc) March 8, 2019
Aldo is on a two-fight winning streak after TKO victories over Jeremy Stephens and Renato Moicano. The 32-year-old Brazilian is the most successful featherweight of all time having defended the WEC and UFC featherweight titles nine times between 2010 and 2014.
Volkanovski is coming of his most high-profile win to date defeating former title challenger Chad Mendes with a second-round TKO victory.
The Shellharbour product is undefeated inside the UFC since making his Octagon debut in 2016. Volkanovski’s lone MMA loss harkens all the way back to 2013 where he was defeated by Corey Nelson in a fight he took at welterweight. Volkanovski now has his eyes firmly set on the UFC featherweight title.
Current featherweight king Max Holloway will fight for the UFC interim-lightweight title on April 14 (AEDT) at UFC 236. The outcome of that match-up could have massive implications for the bout between Volkanovski and Aldo, with rumours swirling that the fight could end up being for an interim or undisputed title. Nothing official has been confirmed at this stage.
Volkanovski joins fellow Aussie Jessy Jess who will also compete on the card.
