Volkanovski Considered Retirement Prior To His Last Fight

UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski (28-4) revealed if he had suffered significant damage in his rematch against Diego Lopes last month, he would have considered retiring, however, since he retained his title without injury he decided to sign a new UFC contract.

Volkanovski secured a unanimous decision (49–46, 49–46, 50–45) in the rematch, successfully marking the first defense of his second title reign, and tying José Aldo for the most featherweight title defenses in UFC history with eight. It was also the second victory over Lopes after beating him to secure the vacant belt in April 2025.

Before those wins, Volkanovski had a tough 2023-2024 that included knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria. Volkanovski confessed post-fight that if he had taken damage or suffered a third knockout loss against Lopes, he had planned to walk away from the sport.

“If I took a heap of damage in this fight, maybe I would’ve laid down the gloves. I am taking that into consideration – I’m trying to weigh it. Right now, I’m in a good position. I did get a new contract as well, which was great. So I was able to do that and you’re never going to make money like you do when you’re fighting, you can say I’m pretty set outside of it. We have a bunch of great opportunities there, but I’m alive and willing, and I’ve gotta go get these paychecks,” Volkanovski said