Alexander Volkanovski Says He Would Retire After a Justin Gaethje Superfight: What the UFC Has Actually Agreed To
Alexander Volkanovski stopped Movsar Evloev with six seconds left in the second round at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, handing the top-ranked featherweight contender the first loss of his career. Then, at the post-fight press conference, he named the fight he wants to finish on.
Justin Gaethje, for the lightweight title, with Volkanovski walking away afterward no matter the result.
“That's something I would retire for,” Volkanovski said. “If they wanted to give me that opportunity, I would retire. Win or lose, retire.”
What Was Actually Said, and Where
The detail matters, because of how this is being repackaged. Volkanovski did not call Gaethje out in the cage. His octagon interview was about his wedding anniversary and whether he would keep fighting at all: “I said if I don't take too much damage, maybe I'll keep going. So maybe I'll keep going.”
The Gaethje pitch came later, at the press conference, after reporters asked whether he would take the fight if Gaethje does not retire. He had also floated the same idea before UFC 333 on a podcast, so this was a second ask rather than a spontaneous one.
He was careful about the mechanics. “I don't want to hold divisions up,” he said. “I believe that we could do this and not hold the division up. If I win it and I vacate, then you got everyone else fighting anyway.”
Nothing Has Been Agreed To
Dana White was warm and committed to precisely nothing.
“There's not much we're going to say no to with him,” White said of Volkanovski. “We'll see how this whole thing plays out.”
Gaethje has not responded publicly. He has not committed to fighting again at all, having flirted with retirement after taking the lightweight belt from Ilia Topuria by fourth-round corner stoppage at the White House event in June. Arman Tsarukyan has been widely floated as his likely next opponent, and that is not booked either.
So there is no date, no event, no opponent agreement and no venue. One champion asked, the promoter smiled, and the other champion has said nothing.
Volkanovski Earned the Right to Ask
He is 38, Australian and 29-4. The Evloev win was his ninth featherweight title victory, breaking his tie with Jose Aldo for the most in division history. It matched Aldo's record for featherweight title defenses. It also made him the oldest fighter to defend the UFC featherweight championship.
Evloev came in 20-0, with all 10 of his UFC wins arriving by decision and not a single finish among them. Volkanovski finished him with punches at 4:54 of the second round.
That is a resume that gets a phone call returned. He won the belt from Max Holloway in December 2019, defended it five times, lost it to Topuria in February 2024, took the vacant title back against Diego Lopes in April 2025, and has defended twice since.
Gaethje Is the Right Opponent for It
Gaethje is 28-5 and turns 38 on November 14, so Volkanovski's line about two 38-year-olds will be accurate in three weeks. The appeal is obvious to anybody who has watched either man work: neither has ever been accused of pacing himself, and both have reached the point where the arithmetic of a long career has stopped applying.
A champion-versus-champion fight that one man has promised to retire after sells itself. Volkanovski has already removed the standard objection by saying he would vacate.
The UFC should make it. Just do not let anyone tell you it is made, because Gaethje has not said a word.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
