Alexander Volkanovski has barely had time to shake off his chest infection and the line is already forming. Sports Illustrated reported this week that an MMA legend has targeted a fight with the UFC featherweight champion following his latest title defense. The report frames the challenger only as an MMA legend, and the specifics of the callout haven’t surfaced beyond that framing, so treat any names attached to it as unconfirmed for now.
The timing makes sense. In that latest defense, Volkanovski put his title on the line against Movsar Evloev, the undefeated Dagestani wrestler who had climbed into the featherweight title picture without a loss on his record. Popular commentator THE MMA GURU wrote on X that Volkanovski finished Evloev by Round 2, at 38, while sick on the morning of the fight. Volkanovski confirmed the illness himself afterward, in comments shared by Championship Rounds.
“It’s all good, it’s a part of the game. I started getting sick, I was like ‘it would’ve been too easy if I wasn’t sick.’” he said. “No matter what hurdles are in front of me, this sh*t excites me.”
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Happy Punch, posting fight-day footage, described the illness as a chest infection and quoted Volkanovski saying, “I’m sick, but the fight would be too easy if I felt too good anyway.”
Evloev took the loss without a word of complaint. “Alhamdulillah for everything. Today wasn’t my day,” he said in a statement relayed by Championship Rounds. “Congratulations to Volk. He was the better man today.” He also thanked the UFC for the title shot and his fans. Then he went quietly to Instagram and changed his bio to 0-1, according to Championship Rounds. It’s a striking little gesture from a man who had never had to write a number in that second column before. To me it looks like a fighter keeping score on himself.
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The complication for anyone calling Volkanovski out is that the champion already seems to have a short list in mind. Asked about a rematch with Ilia Topuria before he retires, Volkanovski said he’d be interested under one condition, in comments reshared by Championship Rounds. “That would be great too. If it’s gonna be for a lightweight title then yea,” he said. “To get that win back would be great. I’m a competitor and I’d love to test myself against him.”
That’s the fight that matters to him, and you can hear it in how he phrased it. A legend’s callout is flattering, and a 38-year-old champion has every right to chase the matchups that carry history instead of the ones that carry rankings. But Volkanovski just beat an unbeaten contender at 145 while fighting sick, and the one name he volunteered was Topuria, with a lightweight belt on the line. Until whoever is behind the SI report puts his name and his terms on the record, the legend is waiting behind the man Volkanovski wants to win back a loss against.
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