Dana White positive on Alexander Volkanovski being Islam Makhachev's next opponent

According to UFC president Dana White, Islam Makhachev's first title defense will most likely be against Alexander Volkanovski.

Makhachev submitted Charles Oliveira to win the vacant lightweight championship at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi yesterday, cementing himself as one of the sport's top pound-for-pound fighters. Following the fight, he was confronted by Volkanovski, with both fighters agreeing to a champ vs. champ showdown to determine the world's best P4P fighter.

White likes the matchup and believes it makes sense given that Volkanovski is only one weight class below Makhachev at featherweight and served as the backup for yesterday's blockbuster main event.

“It looks like Volkanovski is next,” White told reporters at the UFC 280 post-fight press conference. White was blown away by Makhachev's performance, particularly how quickly he dispatched Oliveira after dropping him in the second round.

“Incredible,” White said. “I’ve been saying all week, you have two of the absolute best in the world facing in their prime and facing off. And when I went up in the octagon after, Khabib said, ‘I told you. I told you he’s the best in the world.’

“I mean, to beat Oliveira is one thing, to beat him the way he beat him is another. And as fast as he did it, he looked incredible tonight. The big question tonight was how is he going to deal with the pressure. And he dealt with it just fine.”

It looks like we have a cracking matchup on our hands with two pound for pound best fighters battling for the number 1 spot. Let us know in the comments who do you think wins the bout between Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev.