Alexander Volkanovski is one of the UFC’s most enduring champions, but retirement talk is inescapable as he heads into his UFC 333 main event title defense against Movsar Evloev.
“The Great” headlines the Oct. 24 event in Abu Dhabi with his featherweight championship on the line. Volkanovski will be 38 by the time he makes his next walk to the octagon, and is currently in his second reign as 145-pound champion, having successfully defended it against Diego Lopes this past February. That marked Volkanovski’s sixth championship defense overall.
He has long maintained his intention to compete as long as he’s physically able and enjoying fighting, but admitted in an interview with Australia’s 10 News that a bad night against Evloev could accelerate his retirement plans.
“If things go terribly wrong, alright, we’re done,” Volkanovski said. “If things go very well, like the last one, no damage, go through, alright, we’ll keep it rolling.”
Volkanovski won 25 of his first 26 pro fights before venturing up to lightweight to challenge Islam Makhachev. He lost a pair of fights to the now-welterweight champion, a close decision at UFC 284 and then a knockout loss at UFC 294 in a rematch that Volkanovski took on 10 days’ notice as a replacement for Charles Oliveira.
Ilia Topuria then knocked Volkanovski out at UFC 298 to claim the featherweight title—Volkanovski’s first-ever loss competing at 145 pounds—but after Topuria exited the division to move up to lightweight, Volkanovski became champion again by claiming a vacant belt with a win over Lopes before defeating him again in a rematch.
That resilience has kept Volkanovski near the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, and if he gets past the undefeated Evloev or at least delivers another memorable performance on Oct. 24, don’t expect Volkanovski to leave the business anytime soon.
“Taking each fight as it goes, just trying to be real with it,” Volkanovski said. “But I don’t have plans on retiring right now.”
As for what keeps bringing him back, Volkanovski mentioned enjoying training, competition, and one more key factor.
“Money’s always good,” Volkanovski said with a laugh.
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