UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has talked down his chances of fighting for the lightweight title again at some stage in the future.

Volkanovski twice challenged Islam Makhachev for the 155lb title back in 2023, losing by unanimous decision in their first encounter in February, before then being KO’d in the rematch nine months later.

Volkanovski also lost his 145lb title a few months later to Ilia Topuria, but has since reclaimed that courtesy of a unanimous decision victory against Diego Lopes in April last year.

Speaking ahead of his featherweight title rematch with Lopes at UFC 325 on January 31st, the 37-year-old Volkanovski revealed that as things stand it’s unlikely that he’ll mount another serious title challenge up at lightweight.

“If it’s offered to me, of course, I’m gonna fight for the lightweight title,” Volkanovski said during an interview on ‘The Ariel Helwani Show.’ “But as everyone knows, I’m pretty real with everything. Right now, it’s like, do I deserve a shot at the lightweight title? I know I don’t.

“I’m not planning to fight for another two to three years. For me to deserve another shot like that I’m gonna need another two to three wins. And then maybe I’m back in a position where I deserve a shot at that lightweight title. I don’t believe I deserve that [shot] right now. It’s not something that I’ve even thought of… That’s not something that I feel could be in the near future.”

There had been some talk that Volkanovski might retire after his upcoming fight with Lopes, but in another recent interview the star had denied that was the case.

It’s not clear exactly how much longer he does intend to compete though, and his latest comments are likely to raise a bigger question mark as to whether he would still have a desire to fight on if he loses his grasp on the featherweight title.