Could UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski retire after his next fight? It depends.
Volkanovski is set to defend his title against Movsar Evloev in the main event of UFC 333 (Paramount+) on Oct. 24 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. With roughly two months until the fight, Volkanovski, who turns 38 on Sept. 29, is open about the fact that retirement is a possibility.
“If things go terribly wrong, all right, we’re done," Volkanovski said in an interview with Australia's 10 News. "If things go very well like the last one, no damage, go through, all right, we'll keep it rolling.”
Volkanovski (28-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) is in his second reign as 145-pound champion. During his first title run, he defended the belt five time before Ilia Topuria knocked
him out with a punch in February 2024, his second consecutive defeat by knockout after Islam Makhachev finished him with a head kick and punches four months earlier in a lightweight title fight.
Many observers wondered then if Volkanovski was nearing the end of his career, but after Topuria vacated the featherweight title, Volkanovski regained it by defeating Diego Lopes at UFC 314 and then successfully defended against Lopes in their rematch at UFC 325 this past February. Volkanovski will seek his second title defends when he meets undefeated Evloev, who is 20-0 overally and 10-0 in the UFC.
"Taking each fight as it goes," Volkanovski said. "I'm just trying to be real with it. But I don't have plans of retiring right now."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Alexander Volkanovski reveals what it would take to retire after UFC 333
