"I’ll get the rematch" - Alexander Volkanovski promises 'big finish' to the Islam Makhachev story after 'disappointing' UFC 284 decision

Alexander Volkanovski was unsuccessful in his attempt to become the fifth double champ in UFC history when he was defeated by Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 via unanimous decision. The featherweight champion recently revealed that he plans to rematch the lightweight champion while hinting at a possible trilogy.

During an appearance on the IMPAULSIVE podcast, 'The Great' stated:

"The whole thing, me moving up, challenging myself, wanted to have my moment and then finish like I did, I was ready for it and it was just taken from me. So I was pretty f**king disappointed with that. I'll get the rematch, I'll win, and then we'll make a bigger fight and a bigger ending to that story anyway."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments on facing Islam Makhachev below:

While plenty of fans felt that Volkanovski defeated Makhachev in their UFC 284 bout, all three judges agreed that the lightweight champion won the bout. Two judges gave the featherweight champion two of the five rounds, while one awarded him just one round. 'The Great' will now look to defend his featherweight title for the fifth time against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290.

Check out the judges' scorecards from the UFC 284 bout below:

Alexander Volkanovski would like to fight for the 'BMF' belt

Alexander Volkanovski is intent on achieving double champ status by defeating Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title after defending his featherweight title. The No.2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter recently revealed that he has his sights on a third belt. Speaking to David Adesanya, 'The Great' stated:

"At the end of the day, fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. Who's the ruler of the bad a**es? It's the guys that will fight injured and consistently, guys like Izzy, Israel Adesanya, obviously, your brother, like myself. Don't get me wrong, I look at them like bad a**es, too, but yeah, 100 percent, that's something that I'd love to do. I'd do it anywhere, any place, any time."

Volkanovski added:

"Maybe a 'BMF' belt fight while - if Islam is there doing his thing and then we do our immediate rematch after, then I can have three belts. I'd love that. Featherweight, 'BMF' belt, and that lightweight belt. I've had a couple little conversations about it. That's definitely something that's on the cards."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments on fighting for the 'BMF' belt below (starting at the 25:23 mark):

Volkanovski noted that the willingness of him and Israel Adesanya to fight back-to-back with short camps as champions make them true 'bad a**es.' Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje will clash for the celebratory 'BMF' title at UFC 291 in July.