How Does ‘The Great’ Cement Himself as the Greatest UFC Featherweight Ever?
The debate of Alexander Volkanovski as the greatest featherweight in UFC history was polarizing prior to his loss at the hands of Ilia Topuria. The debate has never been hotter. Some have already crowned him as such, but the debate of Jose Aldo as the UFC’s greatest featherweight still remains. He recaptured and retained the Featherweight Championship after Topuria vacated the belt to move up to the Lightweight Division, beating top contender Diego Lopes twice in nine months. His last performance proved that he has a few elite performances left before he hangs up the gloves. So how does ‘The Great’ settle the debate and cement himself as the greatest featherweight in UFC history?
Volkanovski and Aldo are currently tied for the most successful UFC featherweight title wins at eight. Both men have showcased their dominance over the Featherweight Division over a seven-year period: Aldo from 2009 to 2016, and Volkanovski from 2019 to now. Both had devastating losses against premier fighters in the height of their careers. While Aldo recaptured the Featherweight Championship at age 29, Volkanovski became the oldest fighter to win the Featherweight Championship at 36 and the oldest to successfully defend the Featherweight Championship at 37. Another successful defense at 37 or at 38 would not only cement Volkanovski as UFC’s greatest featherweight, but put him in the debate of being on the Mount Rushmore of UFC’s greatest fighters. Volkanovski would sit alongside greats like Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, and Daniel Cormier as UFC champions with successful title defense at age 35 or older.
The best way to cement his status as UFC’s featherweight G.O.A.T would be by beating the winner of Mosvar Evloev vs. Lerone Murphy this year. A successful defense this past January gives Volkanovski enough time to rest, have a good training camp, and defend his title later in 2026. Both men are Volkanovski’s top threats in the division right now. Evloev has utilized his background in Greco-Roman wrestling and improved his striking to stay undefeated. We saw Volkanovski’s elite takedown defense in his first fight with Islam Makhachev at lightweight, but we haven’t seen Volkanovski’s ground game tested since. Murphy has used his Muay Thai and boxing to knock out opponents and developed his ground game in Brazilian jiu-jitsu to maintain his undefeated record. Volkanovski’s last two defeats have come by way of knockout. His chin is not as durable as it used to be, but he can still take a powerful punch or two. A successful title defense against Evloev, who turns 32 in February, or Murphy, who turns 35 in July, at the height of their careers would be an impressive feat for him as he’s moving further away from his prime, inching closer to retirement.
If Volkanovski lost the Featherweight Championship against Evloev or Murphy, he could ask for an immediate rematch at a chance to top his current record of the oldest fighter to win the Featherweight Championship. This would be an other-worldly accomplishment, also cementing his case as UFC’s greatest featherweight. His alternate route would be to avenge his loss from Topuria. It wouldn’t matter which weight class the fight would take place in since both men have fought at featherweight and lightweight. What matters most is avenging his only UFC featherweight defeat. Only the greatest fighters have defeated ‘The Great’ in the UFC, but his resiliency and skillset have molded him to become a future UFC Hall of Famer and arguably the UFC’s greatest featherweight.
