Sonnen dismisses Volkanovski's Gaethje retirement superfight pitch as 'one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard'

Chael Sonnen has savaged Alexander Volkanovski’s post-UFC 333 lobbying campaign, calling the featherweight champion’s pitch for a retirement superfight with lightweight titleholder Justin Gaethje “one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard.”

Volkanovski had just retained his 145-pound belt with a second-round stoppage of Movsar Evloev in the UFC 333 main event when he began pushing for a crossover bout with Gaethje. The Australian’s proposal came with an unusual sweetener: both men would agree to retire after the fight, ensuring neither division would be left in limbo by a champion moonlighting at another weight class.

Sonnen, speaking on his YouTube channel, was having none of it. “He does not know what we are doing here,” Sonnen said. “Volkanovski just laid out one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard. … He’s gonna go up, and he’s gonna fight Justin Gaethje. He’s got no problem with him; they get along. But they’re gonna throw their arms around each other and put the gloves down in the middle when this thing is over. Who does that help? Why would anybody book that fight?”

Sonnen also challenged the framing that moving up to 155 pounds would represent a genuine test for Volkanovski, pointing out that the champion once walked around at roughly 96 kilograms — well above the lightweight limit — before committing to the featherweight cut. “You cut your ass off to not test yourself,” Sonnen argued, suggesting the retirement caveat was a subconscious safety net rather than a mark of competitive courage.

“If you want to go to 155 and test yourself, drop the strap and go into the division; exactly what Ilia Topuria did,” Sonnen said. “You want to test yourself, do what Max Holloway did: be a ‘45-pounder that enters ‘55 with no guarantee. Which means if I lose, I don’t get to say I lost to the best guy.”

The criticism carries added weight given Volkanovski’s history at lightweight. He has already challenged for the 155-pound title twice, losing on both occasions to Islam Makhachev, without vacating his featherweight belt either time. Sonnen argued that Volkanovski is effectively seeking a third cross-divisional opportunity under the same protected terms — keeping his featherweight title as a fallback — rather than committing fully to the move.

Whether the UFC will entertain the proposal remains unclear. UFC CEO Dana White did indicate after UFC 333 that it would be difficult to deny Volkanovski many requests given his standing in the sport, but no fight has been announced.