Alexander Volkanovski stood in the center of the Octagon on Saturday night following his latest dominant featherweight world title defense — a third-round TKO of Yair Rodriguez in the main event of UFC 290.
With the championship wrapped around his waist, Volkanovski considered his options, but conceded that he must take care of a certain situation first.
"I’ll be completely honest with you, I need to get a little bit of surgery on my arm," Volkanovski told Joe Rogan inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, fresh off of recording his fifth title defense. "Going through camp was a bit of a struggle but I was always going to turn up here and do my thing."
After getting that sobering news out the way, Alexander "The Great" made it clear that he'll be back from said surgery soon and that his goals won't change much when he returns.
"I want that lightweight belt … I’m still coming for that," Volkanovski tacked on.
The 34-year-old Australian tried to become a double champion in February but fell short against lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev.
After reassuring his fans that the lightweight strap is still in his sights, Volkanovski turned his attention to surging featherweight contender Ilia Tuporia, who was in attendance Saturday night.
"Whoever’s next — Ilia's been running his mouth," Volkanovski said. "If he wants to keep going, I’ll show him what’s up. I’ll squash him, too."
The two later had an intense confrontation as Volkanovski headed backstage.