Daniel Cormier believes Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski will hold up their divisions if they run things back, and the UFC Hall of Famer isn’t a big fan of that.
Featherweight champion Volkanovski (25-2 MMA, 12-1 UFC) proposed a rematch to lightweight champ Makhachev (24-1 MMA, 13-1 UFC) after taking him to the brink in their title fight at UFC 284. Makhachev edged out Volkanovski in a decision win in a fight Volkanovski thought he won.
Immediately afterward, Volkanovski suggested they rematch later this year in Abu Dhabi. But with Yair Rodriguez crowned interim featherweight champion at UFC 284 and Beneil Dariush scheduled to face Charles Oliveira at UFC 288 on May 6, Cormier would like to see Makhachev and Volkanovski focus on their own divisions.
“Islam’s got work to do in his own weight class and so does Alexander Volkanovski,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “Volkanovski owes it to Yair Rodriguez to go and give him an opportunity to try to become the undisputed champion of the world.
“And I don’t know if it’s fair to Beneil Dariush if he beats Charles Oliveira to not get his chance to fight for the lightweight championship of the world. This is the danger in superfights: You get a close superfight, (and) people are clamoring to see it again. When, in reality, we have two divisions that need the champions back in order to really give us a little clarity.”
Cormier scored the fight in favor of teammate Makhachev over Volkanovski. Although Volkanovski fell short, his valiant effort resulted in him maintaining the No. 1 spot in the official UFC pound-for-pound rankings.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 284.