Alexander Volkanovski has a retirement plan, and it runs through Justin Gaethje. The UFC featherweight champion doubled down this week on wanting a “champion vs. champion” fight with Gaethje before he hangs up the gloves, and he made it clear that nothing else is pulling him toward the exit.
In comments that made the rounds on r/MMA on Friday, Volkanovski said Gaethje doesn’t want to do rematches, the two have never fought, and he has no plans to retire unless something like this fight comes together.
That’s a tidy pitch. If Gaethje isn’t interested in running back old fights, a fresh matchup between two belt holders who have never shared a cage checks both boxes. Volkanovski framed it as the only scenario that gets him thinking about the end, which is another way of saying he plans to keep defending 145 for as long as nobody hands him that fight.
View post on X
First, Evloev
All of this is hypothetical until Saturday night. Volkanovski headlines UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 24 against Movsar Evloev, who is 10-0 in the UFC. All 10 of those wins went to the judges, the latest a majority decision over Lerone Murphy in March.
That zero in the finish column has made Evloev a lightning rod. Jose Aldo told MMA Fighting this week that if he ran the UFC he would never give Evloev a title shot and would cut him after his first loss for putting on dull fights. Aldo also said he’s pulling for Volkanovski, even though a win could see the Australian tie or pass Aldo’s record for most title defenses in UFC featherweight history. Aldo said he has absolutely no problem with that.
View post on X
Fight week itself has been friendly, verging on goofy. Volkanovski showed up to Thursday’s press conference dressed as his character Joe from the Street Fighter movie, according to Championship Rounds. When the crowd started chanting Evloev’s name while Volkanovski was answering a question, Evloev waved them off and told them to “respect the champ.” Volkanovski’s calendar is already filling up beyond Saturday, too. Spinnin Backfist reported that he’s headed to Dagestan for an episode of Cooking With Volk with Islam Makhachev, with plans for hunting on horseback and cooking over a fire.
Sal’s take
I like the Gaethje fight. Two champions, no rematch baggage, and Gaethje’s style guarantees a car crash of some kind, which is exactly the opposite of what Volkanovski has in front of him this weekend. And that’s my problem with the timing. Evloev has gone the distance 10 times in 10 UFC fights and won every one of them, which tells you he knows how to bank rounds and doesn’t fade. You don’t beat that guy by thinking about a superfight. You beat him by winning three of five rounds against someone who has never lost a scorecard battle in this promotion. If Volkanovski does that on Saturday, he can start dialing Gaethje’s phone on Sunday. If he doesn’t, the retirement conversation gets a lot more complicated than one dream opponent.
View post on X
