About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alexander Volkanovski is adamant about getting one final chance at becoming a two-division UFC champion.
After two failed attempts, Volkanovski (29-4 MMA, 16-3 UFC) is hoping to close out his career with the UFC lightweight title after years of dominating the weight class below. Volkanovski, whom many consider the greatest featherweight of all time, broke the record for the most UFC title wins at 145 pounds by stopping Movsar Evloev (20-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) in the main event of Saturday's UFC 333.
It was a big win for the Australian, and one that he hopes gets him a shot against lightweight champion Justin Gaethje , who like Volkanovski, has also been flirting with retirement.
"I'm an honest guy, and I wanted it to be fair," Volkanovski said at the UFC 333 post-fight press conference. "I don't want to hold divisions up. I believe that we could do this and not hold the division up. Again, both of our retirement fights and put it all on the line, which would be cool. A little bit of a superfight. Two 38-year-olds going at it, and then we'll leave it all and let all the young fellas sort themselves out."
Volkanovski has been campaigning for this opportunity for a few months now. He understands the disruption it may cause, giving a title shot to a fighter from another weight class while skipping other divisional contenders, and that's why he wants to assure the UFC, that he would retire no matter what if given the opportunity.
"That's something I would retire for," Volkanovski said. "If they want to give me that opportunity, I would retire win or lose. I would retire, and then it's vacant, so I'm not holding the division up. If I win it and I vacate it, then you've got everyone else fighting anyway. That's something I would retire for. Otherwise, I'm just fighting and taking these fights as they go."
Volkanovski is currently in his second stint as UFC featherweight champion. He regained the title in April 2025, after losing it to Ilia Topuria in 2024, and has since defended it twice – defeating Diego Lopes and now Evloev. Many thought Evloev was the one to end Volkanovski's second championship reign, but not only did Volkanovski take the undefeated from the Russian fighter, he also stopped him.
"I'm very happy," Volkanovski said. "I wouldn't mind watching it back, but to get a finish over an undefeated prospect like that – again, he's a great fighter, but I knew that I had the skills to make it very hard for him. I wanted to get the finish. I knew I could get the finish, and here we are. We got it."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Alexander Volkanovski insists on lightweight title shot vs. Justin Gaethje after UFC 333
Source: Sports
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