Alexander Volkanovski is 38, holds the UFC featherweight title, and says neither the end of his career nor the idea of still fighting at 40 frightens him. ESPN published the interview Wednesday, three days before he defends against Movsar Evloev at UFC 333. He also made a promise that should get your attention: he expects to put on one of the best performances of his career this weekend.
That’s a bold thing for a man his age to say at 145 pounds. Featherweight is not where veterans usually find a second wind. Volkanovski isn’t treating the age question as a threat, though. In the ESPN piece he talks about retirement as something he can face calmly whenever it comes, and he doesn’t sound like a guy hearing footsteps. Boxing News ran its own story on Wednesday about his comments on fighting at 38 and the retirement chatter around him.
The fight in front of him
The UFC 333 card goes Saturday, October 24. UFC Brasil’s promo, which tagged Abu Dhabi’s tourism accounts, listed Volkanovski vs. Evloev on top. Brazil gets Daniel Santos, Iasmin Lucindo and Nicolle Caliari further down the card, with the pre-show starting at 10 a.m. Brasília time and the fights at 11 a.m. on Paramount Plus Brazil.
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The market can’t separate them. Championship Rounds pointed out on X that Polymarket had the bout at a dead 50-50 as of Tuesday. For a sitting champion, that’s a striking number, and it tells you how seriously people take Evloev.
Not everyone is a fan of how Evloev wins, though. Jose Aldo, who knows a thing or two about the featherweight belt, went after him in a clip MMA Fighting posted Tuesday. Asked what he’d do as UFC boss, Aldo said: “I’d wait for him to lose for the first time and then cut him because he’s a guy who doesn’t sell, a guy who puts on boring fights, a guy who doesn’t draw attention.” Aldo’s line about a first loss tells you Evloev still hasn’t tasted one. Ouch, all the same.
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Camp, cooking and Dagestan
Volkanovski’s camp sounds brutal, if his own clips are anything to go by. In a video Championship Rounds shared Monday, a teammate passed out from exhaustion during one of their challenges, and Volkanovski’s reaction was pure him: “Did he pass out? F*ck man, that was an absolute war.”
He’s already got plans beyond Saturday, too. Spinnin Backfist reported he’s heading to Dagestan soon to film an episode of Cooking With Volk with Islam Makhachev, his old rival. “We want to do a whole hunting on horseback, catch stuff, cook over a fire....you can just imagine how good that content will be,” Volkanovski said. A man scared of retirement doesn’t talk like that. He sounds like someone who’s built a life he’ll enjoy whenever the gloves come off.
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My take
I love that he’s promising something special instead of hedging. Saying you’ll deliver one of your finest nights at 38, against an opponent the betting market calls a coin flip, puts real pressure on yourself, and Volkanovski seems to want it. The danger is obvious. If Evloev turns this into the grinding, low-event fight Aldo is complaining about, the 50-50 line will look generous to the champ. If Volkanovski can keep it standing and busy, he gets to have his horseback barbecue in Dagestan with the belt still in the bag. We find out Saturday, October 24.
