Dana White wants Justin Gaethje vs. Alexander Volkanovski, and he’s putting the hold-up on Gaethje.
The UFC CEO went on Jim Rome’s show and said he wants to make the fight next. The catch, per a clip shared by Verdict MMA, is that White is still waiting on Gaethje to decide whether he wants to keep fighting at all. That gives the story its tension. The matchmaking is done in White’s head. The fighter hasn’t signed off on having a career.
The UFC has been circling this one at lightweight, and White is now saying it publicly, which matters more than another round of hallway chatter. Sportskeeda framed it as White suggesting Gaethje is holding up the superfight. Yahoo Sports and the French outlet La Sueur ran it as White wanting to book it. Both versions are accurate. The promotion wants it. Gaethje hasn’t said yes.
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Not everybody is thrilled. MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew quote-posted the news on X with a three-word review: “Just kill me now.” Fair enough. A lot of people would rather see these two guys go somewhere else.
Where both men stand
Volkanovski’s last outing was against Movsar Evloev, a fight he’s been breaking down publicly this week. He said he trusted his takedown defense enough to stand at mid range with Evloev instead of working from his usual long distance, the range he likes against heavy punchers. He also posted his entire fight-day menu after revealing he was sick that day: eggs, toast, avocado, rice and chicken, and a frankly heroic amount of banana and Nutella. A man who will eat rice cakes with Nutella three hours before a fight while sick is a man who will take a call from Dana White.
The featherweight picture around him is moving too. Dan Hooker told Submission Radio that Diego Lopes doesn’t believe a rematch with Volkanovski is coming soon, which is part of why Lopes is fighting Charles Oliveira for the BMF belt in the UFC 335 main event on Dec. 12.
That BMF belt is Gaethje territory. He won it by beating Dustin Poirier for the vacant title before Max Holloway took it at UFC 300. Gaethje’s most recent public appearance of note was a Halloween costume, dressed as Harry Dunne from “Dumb and Dumber,” which tells you he’s in good spirits and tells you nothing about whether he’s coming back.
Quick take
I like White saying the quiet part out loud. Too many of these fights get floated through anonymous chatter and cryptic posts, and here the boss just told a radio host the fight he wants and the one thing standing in the way. Gaethje has always answered questions straight, so the answer should be clean either way. If he’s in, Volkanovski at lightweight against a guy who has never once taken a step backward is a fight I’d pay for twice. If he’s out, he’s earned the exit, and the UFC needs a new name for Volk before the year runs out. The ball is in Gaethje’s corner, and White made sure everyone knows it.
