Featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski will serve as backup for UFC 280 main event

Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski revealed that he’ll serve as backup for the UFC 280 main event lightweight title fight.

UFC 280 takes place on October 22 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi and is headlined by a match between former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira and No. 4-ranked contender Islam Makhachev. If something were to happen to one of them, Volkanovski will step in as a replacement.

Volkanovski broke the news via Twitter. “It’s Official, I’m the back up fighter for the Light Weight title! See you all in Abu Dhabi,” the featherweight champion tweeted.

https://t.co/VnEnOF0h0u pic.twitter.com/o4zSGAoCEv

— Luke Thomas (@lthomasnews) October 10, 2022

Oliveira was stripped of the title when he missed weight by a half pound for his UFC 274 bout against Justin Gaethje. He defeated Gaethje and the title became vacant. Makhachev enters the title match riding a 10-fight winning streak.

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