Mixed martial arts fans often fail to appreciate the greats while they are still around. Recency bias runs rampant, and excellence is sometimes not admired until the end. The margin for error in combat is so infinitely small. One strike absorbed, one mistake made is all it takes to alter the timeline. The wolf on the hill is not as hungry as the one climbing it, and after a loss, a champion can often fall from grace, never to win a championship belt again. In such talent-rich lighter weight divisions, it is already tough enough to win undisputed gold, let alone defend it from challengers each more dangerous than the last. Alexander Volkanovski, for a vertically challenged man, stands head and shoulders above his peers because he is what so few are not: consistent. Time and again we see champions attain gold, but never defend it. Either they attempt to speedrun their legacy by moving to different weight classes, or lose their crown to the next best guy shortly after. It is increasingly rare in the modern era to see a champ get to the top, and stay at the top of a division. Even rarer is it for a fighter to win the belt back, as it is so easy to fall behind the surging contenders in divisions where the top talent is neck-and neck. Alex Volkanovski is a fan favorite for a reason, and his story is one that touches even us Neanderthals of the MMA fanbase. It’s not because he came from a broken home, or slaved through poverty like some others. It is instead his perseverance and comeback inside the cage against all odds.
Volk is arguably the greatest Featherweight of all time, second only to perhaps the legendary Jose Aldo. He has now won/defended UFC gold seven times, second only to Aldo with eight. A short, stocky former rugby player, he surged onto the scene to win the belt from future hall-of-famer Max Holloway in 2019, and never looked back. In the UFC, where championship belts change hands like a blunt, Volk is one of the few constants. Alexander Volkanovski lives up to his namesake. The Great. He is impeccably well-rounded, and the exact opposite of Michael Chandler in terms of fight IQ. In a game of chess, Volk is a grandmaster. He’s just that good. He doesn’t have imposing physical attributes, at 5’6. He isn’t a knockout artist. He’s no Charles Oliveira in terms of a submission game. But the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
That’s a whole lot of yapping. Let’s back some of it up by looking at Volk’s resume, and not just the result, but how it came about. He got his first crack at genuine elite competition when he battled former interim title challenger Chad Mendes in December of 2018, winning the explosive bout by TKO in the second round. He then faced the King of Rio, Jose Aldo, who reigned over the division for five years. Aldo had previously gone undefeated for ten straight years (2005-2015) and was both a UFC and WEC champion. Aldo, even at present day, is by no means washed. He continues to be a fine fighter and is a difficult out for anyone. Volkanovski dominated him to win a unanimous decision. Probably a prerequisite for what was to come, Volk took on yet another all time great, Max “Blessed” Holloway. Max’s accomplishments could be the subject of an entire Netflix documentary. Up until that fight, Holloway had also defeated Aldo (twice), was the featherweight champion from 2017-2019, and had not been finished since 2012, in his UFC debut against Dustin Poirier. Volkanovski won a convincing decision. Much like his namesake, Volk proceeded to rule like a king. One of the most technically skilled and steady fighters ever seen, he built on his collection of names. He rematched Holloway once more (albeit in a controversial split decision) and defeated him in the trilogy, where he won a unanimous decision 50-45. This is Max Holloway we are referencing here, not some gatekeeper. Nobody had ever toyed with Max like that, he’s usually on the opposing end. Holloway and Volkanovski are/were the two apex predators in the featherweight food web, having fought and defeated many of the same fighters (Aldo, Brian Ortega, Yair Rodriguez, Korean Zombie come to mind). Even Holloway fell prey to Volkanovski, in which he was completely outclassed in the final bout between the two, something nobody had ever done to Max. Volk faced a vast array of different opposition, and battered them all. Against the unorthodox, lightning striker in Rodriguez, he remained composed and won by TKO. Against Zombie, the fight may as well have been a formality of a title defense. Versus the submission threat in Ortega, Volk escaped from one of the most securely locked mounted guillotines I’ve ever seen, and proceeded to escape and win the bout in an all time performance. Even in his first bout against Islam Makhachev at lightweight, he fared better than any fighter ever has during Makhachev’s reign. The shorter, smaller man in Volkanovski stifled Islam’s takedowns, matched him on the feet, and had the lightweight champ on the ropes at the end of the contest, raining ground and pound. He may have lost that fight by decision, but he never seemed like a loser. As outstanding as he was, though, all great things must come to an end. Father Time is undefeated, and it seemed it was Volk’s turn to go.
One of the most damning yet undeniable statistics in the UFC is that fighters aged 35+ at the lightweight division and below are winless in title fights. Volk is 36 years old. The UFC is not necessarily the place for feel-good stories. Volkanovski accomplished a victory that cannot be overstated. In defeating Diego Lopes at UFC 314, he became the first fighter to break the above curse that has stood for over 30 years. Lopes, the younger man at age 30, is a fast, powerful fighter on a warpath to the top of the line, with 22 finishes in 33 fights. Although he is relatively new in the UFC, is no pushover. After losing his debut against top ranked Movsar Evloev, he rattled off five straight victories to put himself in title contention this past weekend. To reiterate, Lopes is skilled enough to contend for the belt after not even two full years in the promotion. This man did not cut the line without the pedigree to back it up. With a background in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Lopes has quickly adapted his game to become an adept striker as well, possessing real knockout power. Given Volkanovski’s unfortunate recent history, it seemed only a matter of time before he would get clipped and go down yet again.
Let’s take a brief journey through time to consider Volk’s previous two fights. Volkanovski has often had the habit of rushing into fights, and taking bouts on short notice. Almost like a featherweight Kevin Holland, except with far more pressure. This trait has made him endearing to fans, but also proved risky, and caught up to him in his later years. In his rematch with Makhachev in October 2023, he was knocked out by a flush head kick in a fight he later admitted he was ill prepared for. Important to note, the last time Volk was finished was ten years earlier in 2013. Less than four months after this brutal defeat, he took on undefeated challenger Ilia Topuria. Topuria is one of the best boxers in the UFC, with destructive power and precision that has yet to be matched. He proved it by knocking Volkanovski out cold, and taking his belt. In the span of four months, Volkanovski had been badly hurt on multiple occasions, with questions of how well his chin could hold up during his later years. We have seen legends start this downward trajectory before, and know how the dominoes tend to fall. Not that the fighter is washed, but that time and competition simply catch up to them. Which is why, over a year after his last loss, it was do or die for Volkanovski. With Topuria moving up to lightweight after being the first man to knock out Holloway in his first title defense, Volk was paired up with Lopes to battle for the vacant featherweight crown. Coming into the bout, a couple major questions hung over the fanbase. Was Volkanovski actually declining? Was this due to his body slowing down, or his back-to-back knockout losses after failing to allow himself to recover? Perhaps he was the same man he had always been, with his only UFC losses coming to one of the greatest lightweights the world had ever seen in Makhachev (a weight class above him) and Topuria, who nobody can seem to beat? Both of these losses are to the best of the best. After UFC 314 in Miami, I believe Volkanovski’s performance put this to rest. After allowing himself over a year out of the octagon, this seemed to sort of reset him, allowing a controlled experiment. There were no excuses. Time off, time to prepare, a test for his chin and skills. He did not disappoint.
Volkanovski, as we know, defeated Lopes by unanimous decision after a full twenty five minutes. Any questions about his current abilities were answered during the opening round, where vintage Volkanovski was on full display. Despite being the shorter man, he had a longer reach at 71.5 inches (pause). He therefore utilized his jab to full effect, outstriking Lopes and mixing in leg kicks to slow his adversary down. He countered the counterstriker effectively, getting the better of the exchanges and rocking Lopes on the feet, sending him crashing into the side of the cage. He ended the round in dominant fashion with a takedown and ground and pound, with seemingly no respect for Lopes’ elite jiu jitsu. Volk was back in a big way, in what was his best round of the fight.
The second round was similar, with Volk getting the better of the exchanges on the feet, although he was unable to score another takedown for the rest of the contest. Towards the end of the round, Lopes caught Volk with a clean right hand that briefly dropped him. I would still score the round overall for Volkanovski, as he outpointed Lopes and once again held a comfortable edge in significant strikes, which I believe outweighs a brief moment towards the end.
The remaining three rounds were closer, with Volk generally doing enough to stay just ahead of his increasingly frustrated opponent. Lopes upped his activity and found success in the championship rounds. I do believe the only round that Lopes outdid Volkanovski was the fourth. In the back half of the fourth round, Lopes clipped Volkanovski with a left, where it seemed his glove slid across Volkanovski’s eye. Blinded, Volk was on the retreat for the next minute or so, completely in survival mode. While unfortunate, Lopes’ strike was legal and the momentum shift needs to be taken into account, as Lopes had Volk on the ropes. Volk seemed to recover in the final round, and weathered a late flurry to comfortably win a decision. Crisis averted.
I truly do not think Volkanovski has lost a step at all, he looked as crisp and collected as he ever has. Volkanovski played to his strengths in this fight and clearly had a great game plan coming in. He kept Lopes at bay the entire time with jabs and low kicks, and engaged at the right time while evading danger. Volkanovski outgained Lopes in the significant strikes category 158 to 63. The only reason this fight seemed close is because of the knockout power Lopes possesses. While the internet was quick to accuse Volkanovski of point-fighting and running scared, this take seems shallow. As referenced above, Volkanovski rocked Lopes several times, outstruck him by a landslide, and kept him guessing. Volkanovski evaded Lopes and continuously circled away from his powerful right hand (because when Volk moved straight back he found himself in trouble, similar to the Topuria fight). Volk’s jab and movement frustrated Lopes, and he never really got his offense going. Questions about Volk’s chin were also answered, he tanked a clean uppercut to the jaw and survived against an opponent with power to spare. Volkanovski is back in a big way, with an indisputable win. Provided he doesn’t rush his way back into things, I believe the now two-time world champ can surpass Aldo in terms of title defenses.
As hinted at during the introduction to this article, this win was emotional not just for Volkanovski, but for the fans. How many times have we seen legends slowly slip away from relevance, enduring loss after loss? After suffering two straight finishes and at age 36, Volkanovski seemed dangerously close to walking the same path. It takes generational greatness to overcome such adversity. Yet adversity is a privilege. How poetic it is that one of the greatest fighters of all time is also one of the most beloved? For good reason. As Volkanovski referenced in his post fight interview, this is the stuff that movies are made of. What a treat it was to watch in person. Not just a great fighter. The Great.
