Alexander Volkanovski is trying to turn his exit into an event.
The featherweight champion — still holding gold at 38 — has pitched a retirement superfight against Justin Gaethje for the UFC lightweight title, the fight he'd ride off into the sunset on. "Imagine that," Volk said on the Who The Fook Pod. "Gaethje and Volk, because he's talking about [retiring]... Let's do a super fight with the lightweight title on the line. Then straight after that, let the divisions sort themselves out."
First, the business at hand. Volk defends his featherweight belt against the 20-0 Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 on October 24 in Abu Dhabi, with a bantamweight trilogy between Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili co-headlining. A win there, and the dream send-off is on the table. Remember: Volk already fell short of 155 gold twice against Islam Makhachev in 2023 and 2024, and Gaethje — who became lightweight king by stopping Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 in June — has been openly talking retirement for months.
The DAOS take: two warriors at the end of the road deciding to settle it for a second belt instead of fading out quietly. That's a legacy play. Champions shouldn't disappear — they should go out in front of everybody.
---
Sources: Bloody Elbow
More from DAOS Magazine:
Latest fight + hip-hop coverage · deadlyartofsurvival.com · DAOS Party tickets — Dec 5, Harlem