Alexander Volkanovski not thinking retirement, but would consider it if ‘things go terribly wrong’ against Movsar Evloev at UFC 333

Alexander Volkanovski is not currently entertaining retirement plans heading into his UFC 333 title defense against undefeated Movsar Evloev on October 24 in Abu Dhabi, but acknowledged that a decisive loss could change his thinking.

The former featherweight champion, who will be 38 years old at fight time, has won back-to-back fights since losing his 145-pound title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. Volkanovski reclaimed the belt by defeating Diego Lopes at UFC 297 and successfully defended it with a rematch victory in February, marking his sixth career championship defense.

After losing twice to Islam Makhachev at lightweight—including a knockout in a 10-day notice rematch—and suffering his first 145-pound loss to Topuria, Volkanovski has demonstrated remarkable resilience by returning to the top of the division. When asked about retirement, he told Australia's 10 News that he will take things "fight by fight" but has no immediate plans to step away.

"If things go terribly wrong, alright, we're done," Volkanovski said. "If things go very well, like the last one, no damage, go through, alright, we'll keep it rolling." He added that he remains motivated by training, competition, and financial reward, joking that "money's always good." With another strong performance against Evloev, expect Volkanovski to continue competing near the top of the pound-for-pound rankings rather than heading toward retirement.