I'm doing shark tanks with 85-90 kilo wrestlers - Alexander Volkanovski details being able to fight "five hard rounds" within just a couple of weeks in camp post-injury

Alexander Volkanovski suffered a broken thumb just three months ago while fighting Max Holloway at UFC 276. Despite that, 'The Great' is already preparing to serve as the backup for the UFC 280 lightweight title fight between Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev.

Volkanovski recently shared how he's prepared to participate if called upon. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, 'The Great' was asked if he'd prefer for the fight to go through as planned. The featherweight champion stated:

"A couple of weeks ago, I probably would have said I'll just make sure I'm fit enough just in case, but let's hope we have a full camp. Where I'm at now with my fitness, if I have to step in, I'm more than happy with where I'm at. I've still got a few more hard sessions to go and that'll get me in pretty good condition."

Volkanovski elaborated on his injury, adding:

"When it was very jammed, it was like I really need to work to get myself ready. Am I going to be ready? A couple weeks later, I was like, 'Alright I'm ready.' It's good to know that I can do this as well. To get myself ready to go five hard rounds, if need be. The shark tanks that I'm doing, the sessions that I'm doing, I'm doing them with 85-90 kilo wrestlers."

Volkanovski added that if a fill-in is needed, he is more than ready. Finally, he said that he believes he can win and become a double champ sooner than expected. Capturing the lightweight title would make Volkanovski the fifth double champ in UFC history.

Watch Alexander Volkanovski discuss his recovery from injury below (starting at the 4:17:12 mark):

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Alexander Volkanovski would prefer to fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 280

During his same appearance on The MMA Hour, Alexander Volkanovski was asked if he had a preferred opponent for UFC 280. The No.1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter revealed that he would rather face Charles Oliveira:

"I think Charles. I'd say Charles would be the better opponent. People say stylistically, yeah, but obviously, there's a lot of hype around Charles. Everyone considers him the champ so if I beat him then everyone's going to consider me the champion."

Volkanovski added that even if he beat Islam Makhachev, he would still have to go through Oliveira before everyone considered him the true champion. He further added that he will be siding with Oliveira over Makhachev. He shared that Oliveira's activeness would likely offer him a quicker opportunity to become double champ.

Watch Alexander Volkanovski discuss his preference of opponent for UFC 280 below (starting at the 4:19:23 mark):