Alexander Volkanovski embraces being the underdog in future lightweight pursuit 

Alexander Volkanovski is willing to embrace the underdog tag as he gets ready to make the move to lightweight. In a recent interview with Mainevent, 'The Great' revealed that he wants to "keep shocking people" as the underdog when he moves to 155lbs saying:

"We're moving up to lightweight. People are going to be doubting me. I love that. I want to be the underdog and you know I want people to, 'He surely can't,' you know, improve and do this and do that. Let's do it, I want to keep shocking people, keep proving myself and proving my worth and keep doing what I'm doing. I'm going to raise the bar every time I step in there."

Volkanovski has dominated the featherweight division, holding a 12-0 record since making his debut inside the octagon. His last outing was the highly-anticipated trilogy bout against Max Holloway at UFC 276, where the Australian decisively proved to be the superior fighter between the two, ending the trilogy with three victories against the former beloved featherweight champion.

The 33-year old stated his intentions of attaining double-champ status with a lightweight title opportunity after his victory against Holloway. However, 'The Great' will be waiting on the sidelines after breaking his thumb during his recent outing.

He will undergo surgery for the same with a return set for later this year.

Watch Alexander Volkanovski reveal his future plans below:

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Robert Whittaker would like to see Alexander Volkanovski move up to lightweight

UFC middleweight Robert Whittaker is keen to see his Australian compatriot move to lightweight in the near future. 'The Readper' added that he does not currently see a proper challenger in the featherweight division, saying:

"Honestly, it has to be moving up [to lightweight]. I just don't see the challenge for him in the division right now. I would like to see him move up. I think that's where you'll get your next challenge, not only that, but in a more business sense that's where the money is at."

Volkanovski revealed that he plans to return to training by September with the hopes of wanting to go on standby for the UFC 280 lightweight title fight. The highly-anticipated clash will see former champion Charles Oliveria face Islam Makhachev for the vacant lightweight title in Abu Dhabi on October 22.