Through a well-produced YouTube video, Dana White stunned the MMA world by unveiling nine headliner bouts leading up to the White House card, including the UFC 328 clash between Sean Strickland and Khamzat Chimaev. But as the buzz around the fight-declarations continues to grow, it now appears that Alexander Volkanovski’s comeback might also be on the horizon.

Although the UFC boss did not explicitly confirm The Great’s return, a sudden social media post from top featherweight contender Jean Silva hinted at major news. In the post, the Brazilian contender suggested that becoming champion could soon be within his reach, pointing towards a potential clash with Alexander Volkanovski later this year.

“Guys, I’m dying to tell you the news but I can’t… I’m the next champion and you’re all going to have to see it,” ‘Lord’ posted on his Instagram story.

For the unversed, Jean Silva was rumored to replace Movsar Evloev at UFC London against Lerone Murphy because of the Russian fighter’s visa issues. However, Evloev reportedly shared on his Telegram account that he doesn’t have any visa issues and can perform at the O2 Arena on March 21. And exactly for that reason, the buzz of ‘Lord’ becoming the next challenger for Volkanovski emerged from the shadows.

At present, most of the top-tier 145 lbs fighters are booked against their respective opponents. Alongside Movsar vs Murphy, Dana White also announced that Aljamain Sterling would be facing Youssef Zalal at UFC Vegas 116. So, in that case, four frontline featherweight contenders are racing among themselves to reach the finish line and face the champion. Meanwhile, Yair Rodriguez seems to be out of the race as he’s recovering from a broken hand, and there’s currently no update on the Mexican’s comeback.

Now, with most of the leading 145ers out of the equation, all the signs point toward Jean Silva being Alexander Volkanovski’s potential next opponent. But as the fight is expected to be fireworks, the Aussie might not be very happy with the showdown.

Alexander Volkanovski believes Jean Silva isn’t in a position to fight for the championship 

Even before fighting Diego Lopes in a rematch, Alexander Volkanovski explained that he would be interested in facing either Movsar Evloev or Lerone Murphy next. The reason? The New South Wales native believes fighting either undefeated contender would add more value to his legacy. 

Still, ‘The Great’ went on to beat Lopes for the second time at UFC 325 in Australia, and fans immediately began speculating about his next fight. And when Jean Silva’s name came up, ‘Volk’ wasn’t thrilled and even went on to dispute the chance of a fight with him.

“But now he’s saying some stuff and thinking that he really deserves next,” Volkanovski said in his YouTube video after beating Diego Lopes. “If the UFC will push that for me, everyone knows me. I’ll fight anyone, but I don’t think that’s very likely to happen. I don’t think he’d be in a position to be able to fight for the title, especially when you’ve got Lerone Murphy and Movsar fighting very, very soon,” he added.   

After defeating Arnold Allen at UFC 324, Jean Silva started believing he could be next in line for a title shot and has clearly begun pushing for it. Indeed, the Brazilian standout delivered a very impressive performance in his last outing and can pose serious problems for Alexander Volkanovski with his knockout power. However, ‘The Great’ has already faced a similar style of opponent, as he fought and defeated Lopes twice, who also carries one-shot, fight-ending power.

In that case, either Evloev or Murphy could pose a much bigger and different threat to the reigning featherweight champion, creating far more intrigue in terms of a compelling stylistic matchup. That said, which fighter do you think Alexander Volkanovski will face next? Let us know in the comments section below.