Volkanovski open to retirement if UFC 333 title defence against Evloev goes 'terribly wrong'

Alexander Volkanovski has ruled out retirement for now, but the 37-year-old featherweight champion conceded that a bad night against undefeated contender Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on October 24 could change his thinking.

“If things go terribly wrong, alright, we’re done,” Volkanovski told Australia’s 10 News. “If things go very well, like the last one, no damage, go through, alright, we’ll keep it rolling.”

Volkanovski will be 38 by the time he walks to the octagon for what will be his seventh championship defence overall. He is currently in his second reign as 145-pound champion, having reclaimed the vacant belt with a win over Diego Lopes in February before defeating him again in a rematch — a run that marked his sixth successful title defence.

The road back to the top was far from straightforward. Volkanovski lost back-to-back fights to Islam Makhachev at lightweight — a close decision at UFC 284 and a knockout at UFC 294, the latter taken on just 10 days’ notice — before Ilia Topuria knocked him out at UFC 298 to strip him of the featherweight title. It was the first defeat of Volkanovski’s career at 145 pounds. When Topuria vacated the division to move up to lightweight, Volkanovski seized the opportunity and recaptured the championship.

That resilience has kept him near the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, and he insists the motivation to compete remains genuine. Asked what keeps bringing him back, Volkanovski cited his love of training and competition — and offered a candid third reason.

“Money’s always good,” he said with a laugh.

Evloev enters the fight undefeated and represents a significant test for a champion who has already weathered more adversity than most fighters at his level. Volkanovski, though, is not framing the bout as a farewell.

“Taking each fight as it goes, just trying to be real with it,” he said. “But I don’t have plans on retiring right now.”