Volkanovski will meet the winner of July's UFC 240 title bout between champion Max Holloway and No.4-ranked contender Frankie Edgar.

The 30-year-old is primed for the challenge despite a health scare after his impressive points' win in Rio on May 12 over previous No.1 contender and former champion Jose Aldo of Brazil.

Volkanovski noticed swelling on his foot the day after the bout but it wasn't until he became feverish on a flight to Chile he realised he had a problem.

"I was rattled, I was delirious, it really hit me hard and that was when I knew something was seriously wrong," said Volkanovski, who spent a week recovering in Santiago.

Volkanovski it would have been more of a worry if the infection had spread to his tendons and bones.

"There could have been serious problems, especially for my career, but I got lucky with that," he said.

Voikanovski said the swelling was almost gone and didn't expect the illness to delay his return to training.

He improved his UFC record to 7-0 and extended his winning MMA streak to 17 bouts with his slick performance against Aldo.

Volkanovski still hopes his world title opportunity comes on the card featuring Australian Rob Whittaker's UFC middleweight title defence against New Zealander Israel Adesanya, which is tipped for Sydney.

Holloway, who is fifth in the UFC pound-for-pound rankings, will be favoured to beat Edgar,

Volkanovski believes successive wins over Aldo and Holloway would establish him among the UFC greats.

"There's Aldo then Max, then you're right up there as one of the best featherweights of all time," he said.

Australian Associated Press