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Alexander Volkanovski isn’t done fighting just yet.
Well, he’s close to the end of his legendary run, but first, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Featherweight kingpin gets a crack at becoming a two-time champion when he takes on surging No. 3 ranked contender Diego Lopes in the main event of UFC 314 on April 12, 2025, from inside Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
Volkanovski is coming off one of the longer layoffs of his UFC career after he was knocked unconscious by Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 (watch highlights). The time off was warranted because he was knocked out back-to-back – which he revealed almost sent him into retirement.
However, “The Great” has decided to continue to fight but has admitted there isn’t much time left.
“I don’t know how much longer I have left in this,” Volkanovski told Ariel Helwani. “I probably could go a few more years. I’m thinking of winning the belt and then defending. Even winning, I’m thinking of, ‘You know what, I’m done. Because how much longer do I want to do this? This ain’t easy, especially to be at a level that I’m at, where my expectations, my normal, is very hard work. It hurts, you’re in pain, you get stuck in. That’s what it takes to be elite and, be the best and be at the top. I accept nothing but that. So it ain’t easy.”
“So I’m expecting to maybe have a few more, a couple more, a few more. We’ll see,” Volkanovski added. “I’ll say it now — I’ll have this fight and absolutely love it and go, ‘You know what, give me another seven!’ But how much longer? I still love it, but how much longer do I want to do this to myself and my body? I do want to sail off in the sunset eventually…How much longer do I want to do this to myself?”
The 36-year-old also revealed that he finally came to the conclusion that he’s going to be okay after fighting – something two years ago he did not know and was brought to tears even thinking about it.
We must appreciate Volkanovski for as long as we still got him because he’s one of the last of a dying breed, and they just don’t make em like they used to.
