Alexander Volkanovski has drawn a clear line for how much longer he plans to keep fighting, and it comes down to how his body holds up rather than a fixed number of fights.
“If I go into a fight and I take damage like I have in some other fights ok, we’re done, but if not maybe we’ll keep going,” Volkanovski said via Mark Bouris. “I said that in the last fight, I didn’t take too much damage, I look great and here we are. So you’re going to see that I’m gonna be driven, I’m going to train hard, and I’m going to do what I need to do every single time.”
Alexander Volkanovski Has Said This Before
This isn’t the first time Alexander Volkanovski has framed his career this way. Ahead of his UFC 325 rematch with Diego Lopes, he admitted on the MightyCast podcast that he was prepared to hang up the gloves if he took serious damage in that fight, saying, “If I took a heap of damage in this fight, maybe I would’ve laid down the gloves.” That fight ultimately went his way without major punishment, but the pattern is now familiar: Volkanovski enters each outing treating it as a potential referendum on his future, based purely on how much punishment his body absorbs rather than any predetermined retirement date.
What’s at Stake Against Movsar Evloev
The comments carry extra weight given who’s next. Alexander Volkanovski defends his featherweight title against Movsar Evloev, who enters undefeated at 20-0 overall and 10-0 in the UFC, widely regarded as one of the toughest tests of Volkanovski’s career. His coach, Joe Lopez, has said Volkanovski looks sharper and stronger heading into this camp than he has in years, but has also acknowledged the retirement talk is a “two-edged sword,” given how physical Volkanovski’s recent wins have already been. With Volkanovski’s own comments making the stakes explicit, this title defense may end up doubling as a referendum on how much longer his career continues.
Also read: Justin Gaethje Shuts Down Ilia Topuria Rematch Talk For Now: “I’m Not Even Talking About It”
About The Author
