Alexander Volkanovski calls for ‘massive fight’ with Dustin Poirier after UFC 302

If Dustin Poirier has another UFC fight left in him, former featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski is raising his hand.

Following his fifth-round submission loss to Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 302, Poirier said Saturday night may have been his final octagon walk, although he didn’t make an official decision about retirement. Volkanovski, who lost the title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in February, knows he may have to wait to get another crack at the featherweight belt, and if that’s the case, he wants to fight Poirier instead.

“He thinks he might be retiring, not sure,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “Maybe, just maybe, depending on what I’m doing — obviously, I want to fight later in the year, I don’t know exactly what’s happening, I don’t want to wait too long either — so if the timing works out, maybe me and Dustin can have a good fight. I know he just wants good fights. Obviously, [we] have a lot of respect for each other, and I think that would be a massive fight.

“So that’s something I’d be willing to do while I’m waiting for that featherweight title, maybe a lightweight fight against someone like Dustin Poirier would be great. You heard it here first. Maybe we could make something happen.”

Despite being a massive underdog heading into UFC 302, Poirier performed admirably against Makhachev, even winning two of the first four rounds on one of the judges’ scorecards. The possibility of Poirier retiring was a huge story leading into the matchup.

But with the final decision looming, Volkanovski is giving the 35-year-old something to think about, and believes the bout could be a blockbuster.

“Dustin, you’re a legend,” Volkanovski said. “Keep your head up. It was a great performance, still, and maybe we could have a little fun in there, have a little dance. Let me know what you think.”