Chael Sonnen suggests Alexander Volkanovski fight at lightweight to avoid 'gatekeeper' risk

Chael Sonnen thinks Alexander Volkanovski risks harming his legacy if he competes for the UFC featherweight title next.

Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) lost the belt at 145 pounds to Ilia Topuria by knockout at UFC 298 in February – his second straight knockout loss. Volkanovski initially entertained the idea of taking a fight at lightweight next but has opted to wait for the winner of Topuria vs. Max Holloway, which headlines UFC 308 on Oct. 26.

Sonnen disagrees and thinks if Volkanovski fights Charles Oliveira, for example, at lightweight, he has nothing to lose. But if he fails to regain his featherweight title, it will set him back in a big way.

“Volk still wants to come back. Where do we want to put him?” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “I certainly wouldn’t disrespect him, and I don’t believe the UFC would. If he came in and said, ‘I’m a title shot guy, that’s it,’ I believe they would say OK. But he doesn’t want to fight anybody specific. … He just wants the title back. That is a different motivation. I won’t question it. I’m speaking for me, as a fan. I would rather a match, a specific match. You want to know what I want for Volk? I want him at ’55, and I don’t want to talk about titles right now.

“I want to see an awesome match. I want to see Volk and Charles Oliveira at 155 pounds. I also think outcome-wise, I think you land in a higher spot whether you beat Charles or you don’t beat Charles. You go into a championship spot and you get beat, that will never return. That hope and dream is gone forever – forever. There’s not a 36-year-old that is even returning to be given the opportunity. It’s to the point where unless you want to be a gatekeeper of some regard, here’s your walking papers. It would be that severe in a title fight. That would not be the case at 155 vs. Charles.”

Volkanovski’s first fight at lightweight in the octagon was against champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284. Volkanovski pushed Makhachev to the brink, but ultimately fell short in a close decision loss. He ran things back with Makhachev on short notice at UFC 294, suffering a Round 1 knockout loss.