Alexander Volkanovski’s told he should replicate Max Holloway after posing ‘dumbest idea ever’

Alexander Volkanovski’s callout of Justin Gaethje hasn’t sat well with UFC legend, Chael Sonnen.

This past Saturday, the premier promotion returned to Abu Dhabi for UFC 333 and in the main event, Alexander Volkanovski knocked out Movsar Evloev to retain his featherweight title.

Following another extremely impressive win, Volkanovski called out Justin Gaethje for a super fight, with the idea that both champion’s would retire after their fight.

And although that doesn’t sound like an idea the promotion would be into, Dana White is on board with Volkanovski’s idea, potentially setting up for a lightweight mega fight.

According to White, ‘The Great’ Volkanovski has done enough throughout his UFC career to warrant doing what he wants next, opening the door up for a huge fight. Despite that, it will depend on what Gaethje wants to do next, with him still teasing potential retirement.

However, despite the promotion seemingly considering that as an option, UFC legend Chael Sonnen has branded it ‘one of the dumbest ideas ever’, explaining why he doesn’t want to see a clash between the two veterans.

“He does not know what we’re doing here,” Sonnen said in a video on his YouTube channel. “Volkanovski just laid out one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard… He’s gonna go up and fight Justin Gaethje. He’s got no problem with him; they get along. But they’re gonna throw their arms around each other and put the gloves down in the middle when this thing is over. Who does this help? Why would anyone book that?

“It was just a really weird thing to do. He suggested that he goes to 155lbs to test himself to fight Gaethje. That’s a cop out. That’s a cop out by anybody. I don’t mean that it’s conscious, but that it’s subconscious. If you want to go up to 155lbs and test yourself, drop the strap and go into the division; exactly what Ilia Topuria did… You want to test yourself, do what Max Holloway did: be a 145-pounder that enters 155lbs with no guarantee. Which means if I lose, I don’t get to say I lost to the best guy,” Sonnen continued.

As well as a potential fight against ‘The Highlight’, Volkanovski would like a rematch against Topuria if their timings line up, however, he could potentially end up doing himself out of that fight by pitching a double retirement fight against Gaethje.