Alexander Volkanovski calls for lightweight brawl with Conor McGregor

Since announcing his return to the octagon, Conor McGregor has had no shortage of contenders calling out his name and that remains true to this day.

As he prepares to make another title run, the Irishman has been called out by a current UFC champion and a man many believe to be the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

'The Notorious' meets an extremely tough Michael Chandler test in his fight back inside the cage and will need to overcome the powerhouse to further his claims at a future championship matchup. While it's unclear what weight the icon will push forward in his career with, his clash against 'Iron' is expected to take place at 170 pounds.

In a recent post on social media, UFC featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski issued a challenge to Conor McGregor, who is the only former 145-pound kingpin he's yet to defeat:

"Let's do it at lightweight."

After dethroning long-reigning champion Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds, many were in agreement that McGregor may be the greatest featherweight of all time. While his impressive run at 145 still holds up, the Dublin native hasn't quite had the resume Alexander Volkanovski has had since his rise to greatness.

The Cage Warriors alum won each of his seven outings in the division, beating Max Holloway, Dustin Poirier, Chad Mendes, and the aforementioned Aldo in that time, making his run in the division one of the most memorable in the sport's history.

Since competing at featherweight in his second UFC bout, Volkanovski has won 11 straight and cemented himself as one of the best to ever do it. The Australian has many of the same wins as McGregor has had, but he holds three huge victories over Max Holloway, alongside four title defenses.

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Why is Conor McGregor the dream matchup for Alexander Volkanovski?

Alexander Volkanovski has long been keen on facing Conor McGregor and has angled for the bout to take place on multiple occasions.

While it seems the two are on completely different career trajectories, the featherweight champion gave honest reasoning on why the superstar is his dream fight during an appearance on The MMA Fan Podcast:

"[The fighter I would have loved to have faced in their prime?] It's pretty easy for me. Insane Conor McGregor because he was a featherweight... I've beat every other champion in the featherweight division, the only champ I haven't fought in the featherweight division is Conor McGregor."

Catch the interview below: