Dana White ran out of polite words for Alexander Volkanovski after UFC 333, so he used an impolite one. Speaking to reporters after Volkanovski stopped Movsar Evloev by second-round TKO in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, the UFC CEO called the featherweight champion a freak of nature, more or less, and then said it louder.
“Incredible, I mean the guy is an absolute stud,” White said, via MMAJunkie. He pointed out that Volkanovski had just beaten an undefeated, younger opponent, started to reach for a comparison about how Evloev is built, and abandoned it halfway through. Then he got back on track. “Volkanovski is incredible. He was the aggressive fighter, he was the one really going after him and trying to finish, and this guy is f*cking built different.”
The part White kept circling back to was who did the hunting. Evloev walked in unbeaten. Volkanovski walked in at 38, with a fair number of people wondering whether age was finally about to send him the bill. He answered by pressing the fight and finishing it, which you don’t see often from a 38-year-old defending against a younger, undefeated contender.
Where Volkanovski stands
Volkanovski entered UFC 333 at 29-4 and riding a two-fight win streak, so the Evloev stoppage puts him at 30-4 and keeps the featherweight belt around his waist. Max Holloway, who knows that body of work better than anybody, predicted beforehand that the fight was going to be a great one. It ended up being a one-sided finish.
The bigger story is what comes next. Volkanovski has talked about taking one last run at the lightweight title, which currently belongs to Justin Gaethje. Gaethje is dealing with hand injuries and is expected to be healed sometime in 2027. White was asked whether Volkanovski vs. Gaethje is a super fight the UFC would actually book, and he left the door wide open.
“I think when you’ve accomplished what he has accomplished, there’s not much we’re going to say no to with him,” White said. “So, we’ll see how this whole thing plays out.”
Volkanovski has floated the idea that a Gaethje fight could double as a joint retirement, with both men walking away afterward if the timing feels right for each of them. That’s a tidy bow on two careers. It’s also bad news for Arman Tsarukyan, the general consensus No. 1 contender at 155 pounds, who could be told to keep waiting.
Sal’s take
I’ll give Volkanovski this: every time the actuarial tables say he’s done, he goes out and stops an unbeaten guy. Betting against him on birth certificate alone has been a reliable way to light money on fire. But the Gaethje fight makes me twitchy for a reason that has nothing to do with Volk. You’d be booking a lightweight champion returning from hand injuries against a featherweight champion who’ll be pushing 39, and the guy who earned the shot, Tsarukyan, sits ringside eating popcorn. When that line opens, I’m looking hard at whoever’s coming off the longer layoff, and I’m not laying a short price on him.