Alexander Volkanovski holds the UFC featherweight title. He reportedly collected the biggest check on the UFC 333 card. He still feels that mainstream sports media in Australia won’t treat him like one of the country’s great athletes. He said so in an interview with Ariel Helwani, who posted excerpts on X on Wednesday.
Volkanovski drew a clear line between the people who stop him in public and the outlets that decide what goes on Australian screens. “Do I believe my accomplishments should be up there with some of the greats? Yes, I do believe that,” he said. He added that plenty of people will try to steer away from MMA, “But not the public.”
He described being in rooms full of athletes from other sports and noticing how many people came over to interact with him. Then he turned to the press. “It does upset me a little bit that some of the mainstream media won’t ever try and show that. Or maybe they just don’t know,” Volkanovski said. He went further and argued the outlets know what their audiences want to see but choose not to run with it. He closed on a gentler note: “I’m very thankful for the people that do.” Yahoo Sports framed the interview as Volkanovski feeling overlooked at home, and MMA Sucka ran it under the angle that mainstream recognition still stings.
View post on X
Coming off UFC 333
The timing makes sense. Volkanovski just beat Movsar Evloev at UFC 333, and he did it while dealing with a chest infection. A fight-day clip shared by HappyPunch has him joking, “I’m sick, but the fight would be too easy if I felt too good anyway.” The result has already produced its own argument. MMA Fighting asked whether Evloev really gave up in that fight, a question that will keep the replay crowd busy for a while.
The money side showed up too. Estimated UFC 333 salaries circulated online this week, and a post from MMA Uncensored listed Volkanovski at the top of the card with a reported $1.18 million payday. Those are estimates, so treat them that way.
View post on X
What’s next
In the same Helwani conversation, Volkanovski floated a big swing. He said he would vacate the featherweight belt and move up to fight Arman Tsarukyan for the lightweight title if Justin Gaethje retires. “I’ll vacate the featherweight belt and fight Arman for the title. There it is,” he said, adding, “If Gaethje doesn’t wanna [fight Arman], I’ll do it. That excites me.” Nothing has been booked, and the whole plan depends on what Gaethje decides.
Quick take
Volkanovski is right, and his own evidence makes the case. The public already gets it. The gap sits with outlets that cover sports through scoreboards and highlight packages, and a featherweight title fight won on positional control and pace is harder to package than a try or a six. That’s a production problem. Volkanovski’s résumé doesn’t have one. If he really does walk away from the featherweight belt to chase Tsarukyan at lightweight, he’s handing those same producers the easiest story in Australian sport: a sick champion just won, cashed the biggest check on the card, then volunteered for the hardest fight available one weight class up. If that doesn’t make the evening news, nothing will.
View post on X
