Volkanovski targets record ninth featherweight title win at UFC 333

Alexander Volkanovski will defend his featherweight title against Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Alexander Volkanovski has won 28 of his 32 professional fights. Already widely regarded as one of the best featherweights of all time, the 38-year-old is in his second championship run and will earn a record ninth win in UFC featherweight title fights if he triumphs against the Russian, a result that would allow Volkanovski to surpass Brazilian icon Jose Aldo. Fans and pundits have debated the greatest featherweight, with Max Holloway among those considered, but Volkanovski has declined to engage directly, saying: "I think a lot of fighters don't like answering these questions, I'll leave everyone else to make these decisions," said Volkanovski. "I'm not fussed about belts, title defences, numbers and all that. When I say I don't care - it is cool, but that's not what drives me. "I'm not driven by getting the most title wins. I get more drive for the challenges and getting through those challenges."

Volkanovski lost his featherweight title after being knocked out by Ilia Topuria in 2024; that defeat was his third in four fights and his second straight knockout after losing to Islam Makhachev only four months earlier when attempting to win the lightweight belt. He told reporters he likes to return to action quickly after defeat, but this time he took 14 months off. Upon his return last year he was booked against Diego Lopes amid widespread suggestions retirement might follow, yet he put on a performance to regain the belt and then repeated that performance in February to cement his place as the promotion's featherweight king.

Reflecting on overcoming those setbacks, Volkanovski said: "The things I'm doing at this age and how I'm doing it, is the real depth," said Volkanovski. "When people throw out 'he's old' - I'm loving that. I want people thinking I'm too old and declining because when I overcome and get through, it's like 'how's he still doing it?' I'll play into that 100%."

Volkanovski is not primarily a knockout artist or a submission specialist; he is described in the original report as one of the most well-rounded mixed martial artists in history, with footwork, distance management, boxing and cardio that "are world class." His grappling features gritty takedown and submission defence, which helped him compete in the first fight against Makhachev and overcome the odds against Brian Ortega in 2021. At 18 minutes and three seconds, he has the longest average fight time in UFC featherweight history, and his 11-fight UFC winning streak between 2016 and 2023 is second to Holloway's record 13; Volkanovski's total of 1,623 significant strikes is also compared in the report with Holloway's 2,971. He holds three victories over Holloway and beat Aldo in 2019.

Volkanovski's opponent, 32-year-old Movsar Evloev, arrives unbeaten in 20 bouts and on a 10-fight winning streak in the UFC. Volkanovski said he is not considering retiring, but added that a "super fight" against lightweight champion Justin Gaethje could convince him to stop, saying: "If I can fit in the equation of the lightweight division - we know Justin is unsure of what he wants to do next," said Volkanovski. "I don't have any plans of retiring other than if we were to do something like this then maybe it's a super-fight, champion versus champion and we see ourselves off. "It's something I would retire for, otherwise I'm taking each fight as it goes." He has twice failed to become a two-division champion, with both defeats coming against Makhachev; the first loss in 2023 was described as razor thin, "with some believing Volkanovski should have been awarded victory with the Australian pushing the Russian harder over five rounds than any other opponent."

Saturday's title fight at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi will determine whether Volkanovski records a ninth win in UFC featherweight title fights and moves past Jose Aldo in that measure of featherweight history.