In weird spot after UFC 267, Alexander Volkov thinks division has to play out before he returns

At UFC 267, Alexander Volkov won again, which puts him in a bit of a unique position.

A former Bellator champion and longtime UFC heavyweight contender, Volkov (34-9 MMA, 8-3 UFC) has beaten a who’s who of top divisional talent – but has also lost to multiple fighters above him in the UFC rankings, which puts him in a confusion spot.

Following his unanimous decision win over Marcin Tybura on Saturday, Volkov opened up about his next fight, which will be delayed due to the recent birth of a son as well as the current state of the division.

“Right now, I don’t have any names because how I told in the octagon, 11 days ago, my youngest son was born,” Volkov said at a post fight news conference (via MMA Fighting). “Right now, I just want to take a little bit of rest to be with my family. After maybe a month, we’ll see what happened in heavyweight, who will be in the rankings because I lost some fights to guys upward from me. Maybe we’ll see if one of them wants to make a rematch with me. We will see but I’m ready for any challenge the UFC will give me. I’m here just to do my job.”

Volkov, 33, has won three of his most recent four outings. His losses have come against interim champion Ciryl Gane, multitime title challenger Derrick Lewis and top contender Curtis Blaydes. All three of those fighters currently sit above him in the UFC’s official rankings.

UFC 267 took place Saturday at Etiad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The main card aired on ESPN+ after prelims on ESPN+/ESPN2.