UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has explained why he wants to pursue a fight against Conor McGregor.

Within the context of mixed martial arts, Conor McGregor is a literal lottery ticket. He’s by far the biggest star the sport has ever seen and that’ll likely be the case for many, many years to come.

Everyone wants a piece of the pie and it doesn’t matter what weight class it’s in. Anyone from welterweight to featherweight believes they could be in with a chance of taking on the Irishman, who looks set to return later this year.

Alexander Volkanovski may seem like an unlikely foe for McGregor but in a recent interview with Submission Radio, he went into detail about why exactly he wants to face ‘The Notorious’.

“Let’s remember he is the only other featherweight champion that I haven’t beat. So that’s something that when you talk about legacy, you know what I mean? Even me fighting in a different weight division [against Conor], if anything that’s probably worse for me. But if I go out there and do that, I still feel like that comes into play for my legacy and the whole featherweight division.”

“Some people might say he’s not in his prime but whatever, I definitely would love that fight. Let me get all the featherweight division [champions], I’d love to take them all out.”

Volkanovski has beaten both Max Holloway and Jose Aldo, meaning a triumph over Conor would complete his featherweight Infinity Gauntlet.

What’s next for Volkanovski?

It can be dangerous to look past the opponent standing in front of you and that’s particularly true in the UFC.

On April 9, at UFC 273 in Jacksonville, Alexander Volkanovski will defend his 145-pound title when he is challenged by The Korean Zombie.

The fight was supposed to be a trilogy showdown with Max Holloway, only for an injury to rule ‘Blessed’ out of the contest.

If Volkanovski wins he’ll tie Holloway with three successful title defences. From there, one can only imagine how big a third meeting between them would be later this year.

As for McGregor, it’s anyone’s guess as to what route he’ll take.