UFC featherweight champion told the media in the immediate aftermath of his unsuccessful bid to claim the 155-pound title from Islam Makhachev in Perth, Australia on Saturday night (or Sunday morning) that he would have to rewatch the fight before offering a full assessment of it. 

Well, he has watched the fight — and he says that he could well have had his hand raised after what was a back-and-forth battle across 25 minutes in front of a raucous crowd Down Under.

Makhachev was awarded the nod on the night, taking the fight 48-47 on two cards and 49-46 on the third but a sizeable community exists which says that Volkanovski was the true winner and that he did enough to win three rounds on the cards, after dominating some portions of the fight and scoring an official knockdown with a clubbing blow late in the bout.

And this is an opinion shared by the Aussie.

Just watched the fight, I definitely think I won 2,3 and 5. Surprised I didn’t get my hand raised! Let’s do the rematch, anywhere, anytime! 👊

— Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) February 12, 2023

“Just watched the fight, I definitely think I won 2,3 and 5. Surprised I didn’t get my hand raised! Let’s do the rematch, anywhere, anytime!” he wrote in a Twitter post on Sunday.

It remains to be seen if Volkanovski will get another crack at the Russian. The UFC has traditionally had an appetite to run back close world title fights, such as the classic fight between  Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson several years ago, so it appears likely that Volkanovski will return to the lightweight fold before long.

Until then, though, he will busy himself with pressing matters at 145-pounds — such as the challenge of Yair Rodriguez, who won interim featherweight gold by scoring a triangle choke finish of Josh Emmett on the same UFC 284 in Australia at the weekend.