Alexander Volkanovski, during his reign as featherweight champion, was known for his frequent fights, defending his title four times within two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Having reclaimed the championship by defeating Diego Lopes at UFC 314 on April 12th, Volkanovski intends to maintain a similar active schedule.
Despite some doubts due to his age and recent knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, Volkanovski silenced critics in Miami. He became the first fighter over 35 to secure a UFC belt in a division under 155 pounds.
At the post-fight press conference, Volkanovski addressed his future plans, stating, “I’m not going to do anything too crazy. People always criticize me for taking fights on short notice. I’ll do it again, you know? That’s just me. I`m the type of guy who challenges himself when things are tough and odds are against me. I still want to push myself.”
He continued, “The same mindset and mentality I have in fights is what I bring to the gym every single day. If I didn`t, I wouldn’t be the champion I am. I`m comfortable with my decisions, and my team supports me because they know my character and abilities. It didn`t go perfectly in every fight, but as I said, sometimes I can be stubborn.”
Sporting bruises from his five-round victory over Lopes, the Australian champion indicated he is open to the promotion`s scheduling for his next fight. However, he seemed less enthusiastic about waiting until September to defend the title against Yair Rodriguez in Guadalajara at the next Noche UFC pay-per-view.
“If I’m feeling good, I’d prefer to fight sooner,” Volkanovski mentioned. “Maybe even quicker than September. That’s possibly the second date being considered. So, if I’m healthy, perhaps a fight in July or September could work. We could potentially fit in a quick turnaround with Movsar Evloev if they are interested and if my hands are okay. We’ll see. My initial plan was to fight frequently, but I didn`t anticipate absorbing so many hits in this fight. Credit to Diego, he was tough.”
“I need to assess a few things,” he added. “I’ll get X-rays done immediately and check everything. If all is well, cuts heal quickly. Give me a couple of weeks, and I’ll be back to training. Even when I return home, I’ll stay active. As I said, I’m a professional, I’m disciplined. I’ll keep working. I’ll discuss with the UFC and see what’s next.”
Rodriguez, a former interim champion who defeated Patricio Pitbull earlier on the UFC 314 card, previously lost to Volkanovski via a third-round stoppage when they fought to unify the titles. Rodriguez’s win against Pitbull came after two consecutive losses to Volkanovski and Brian Ortega. Volkanovski expressed uncertainty whether Rodriguez deserves the next title shot over the undefeated Movsar Evloev.
“Look, he’s a good guy. I like him a lot,” Volkanovski said about Rodriguez. “If the UFC wants to give him the fight, I won’t object. To be honest, before his fight, I didn’t think he would be in line for a title shot even if he won. It wasn’t on my mind. But now that he’s calling for it, I won’t be the one to say no. I’ll leave it to the UFC to decide.”
“Of course, you have guys like Movsar, who is undefeated. I’d be interested in taking that undefeated record,” he continued. “We need to see what the UFC decides. I even saw him tweeting about wanting to fight in May, so maybe discussions are ongoing, and they want him to have another fight first. I’m not sure about the situation, but I’ll see how things unfold. I would love to get back in there quickly. I still want to. But I might need to consider a few things first.”
Ultimately, for Volkanovski, reclaiming the UFC championship is not the primary motivator.
“To be honest, it’s not about the title,” Volkanovski stated. “It’s not really about the belt, but about winning, staying at the top, being successful, you know? This [belt] represents much more. I work incredibly hard in the gym every day. I sacrifice a lot. What am I doing it for? To be the best, obviously. This represents that achievement, which is great.”
“[This belt] will probably just sit in the closet like the other one, you know? But what it represents and what I’ve accomplished is what’s truly special to me. That’s more important to me. Taking this back to my family, friends… Perhaps that`s why it hasn`t fully sunk in yet. Because I want to share this moment with my family and friends back home, as that means more to me. This belt around my waist, to be honest, I don’t really care that much about it in itself.”
