Alexander Volkanovski was one of the most active champions in the UFC back when he reigned as featherweight king, defending his throne four times in a span of two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that he’s back at the top, beating Diego Lopes for the vacant title at UFC 314 on April 12, he plans on replicating that.
Volkanovski was doubted by some given his age and the fact he’s lost back-to-back by knockout, falling in front of Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, but then became the first fighter older than 35 to win a UFC belt under 155 pounds in Miami.
“I’m not going to do anything too crazy,” Volkanovski said at the post-fight press conference when asked for his future plans. “Everyone’s going to always get up me for that short notice. I’ll do it again, you know what I mean? That’s just how it is. A lot of people are going to carry on, but that’s who I am. This guy that challenges himself when his back’s against a wall and all the odds are stacked against him, I’m still trying to give it a crack.
“And that same guy with that same mindset and mentality turns up in the gym every single f*cking day. If I’m not going to do that shit, I wouldn’t be the champion I am. I’m okay with that. There’s no knock at all on my team for letting me do that. It was my decision. They backed me and let me do it because they know who I am and what I’m capable of. It didn’t turn out, but like I said, that’s just, I can be stubborn.”
With bruises all over his face following a five-round battle with Lopes, the Australian star left it up for the promotion’s matchmakers to decide when his next fight will take place, but didn’t sound that interested in waiting until September to defend it against Mexico’s Yair Rodriguez at the next Noche UFC pay-per-view in Guadalajara.
“I mean, if everything’s good, I’d probably like to go soon,” Volkanovski said. “Quicker than that, to be honest. That’s probably the second fight. So maybe it can be, if I’m good, maybe I get the fight, maybe July or September. Yeah, we can maybe fit in. Movsar [Evloev], if they want to do that, if they want to quickly go and I feel good, maybe quick turnaround with Movsar if I don’t have busted hands. We’ll see. Like I said, that was my plan. Bang, bang, bang. But I didn’t expect to get hit this much. Credit to f*cking Diego.”
“I’ve got to look at a few things,” he added. “I’ll get X-rays, I’ll have a look straight away. If everything’s all good, cuts will heal pretty quick. Give me a couple of weeks and I’ll be back at it. I’ll still be doing stuff even when I get back home. Like said, I’m a professional, I’m disciplined. I’ll keep working. I’ll talk to the UFC and we’ll see what happens.”
Rodriguez, a former interim champion himself, beat former Bellator king Patricio Pitbull earlier that night at UFC 314, but then lost t o Volkanovski via third-round stoppage when trying to unify golds. Rodriguez rebounded with the Pitbull win after losing two straight against Volkanovski and Brian Ortega, and “The Great” is unsure if “Pantera” deserves to be next instead of undefeated Evloev.
“Look, he’s a good dude. I like him a lot,” Volkanovski said of Rodriguez. “If the UFC wants to give it to him, I ain’t gonna stop that for him. I’ll be honest, before that fight, I didn’t think if he won, he would be getting a shot. I’ll be honest, that didn’t come to mind. But now that he’s calling, I’m not going to be the one to say no. I’m going to leave everything to the UFC.”
“Obviously, you’ve got guys like Movsar, who’s undefeated. I’d love to take that zero,” he continued. “We’ve got to see what the UFC say. I even seen him tweeting that he wants to fight someone in May and doing all this sort of stuff, so maybe he’s had the chats and they want him to have one more fight. So I don’t know that situation, but I’ll see how things are. I’d love to say I want to get straight back in there. I still do. But I’m gonna have to maybe look at a couple of things.”
When it’s all said and done, becoming UFC champion again and holding the belt isn’t the most important for Volkanovski.
“To be honest, it’s not about the title,” Volkanovski said. “It’s not really about the belt, but winning, staying on top, being successful, you know what I mean? This represents a lot more. I’m in the gym busting my ass every day. You’re sacrificing so much. What am I doing it for? Obviously to be the best. This represents that, which is great.
“[This belt] is just gonna sit in the closet like the other one, you know what mean? But what it represents and what I’ve done is that’s special. That’s more special to me. Me taking this back to my family, friends… Maybe that’s why it hasn’t properly settled in. Because I want to soak it up with my family and friends and everybody back home because that means more to me. When I see all that, that’s what really hits for me. This wrapped around me, that don’t really give a f*ck, to be honest.”
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