Before the UFC 333 main event bout, Alexander Volkanovski was promoting a retirement fight idea with lightweight champion Justin Gaethje. Speculation grew that if “The Great” retained his title in Abu Dhabi, UFC matchmakers might consider making it happen.
On Saturday, the 38-year-old delivered a brutal TKO finish to end Movsar Evloev’s 20-0 undefeated streak. Following the victory, he once again pitched the cross-division superfight with Gaethje as the final chapter of his career.
Alexander Volkanovski Pitches Justin Gaethje as Retirement Fight
Volkanovski dropped Evloev with a clean left and finished him with punches at 4:54 of Round 2. The victory marked Volkanovski’s second consecutive defense since reclaiming the belt in 2025.
With this brutal win, Volkanovski’s professional record is now 29-4. He has now secured nine featherweight title-fight wins, officially surpassing José Aldo for the most in division history.
Afterward, he suggested the cross-division superfight idea again against Gaethje as the final chapter of his career, framing it in a way that keeps both brackets moving.
“I don’t want to hold divisions up, but I believe we could do this and not hold the divisions up. That’s something I’d retire for. If they want to give me that opportunity, win or lose I’d retire,” Volkanovski said in the post-fight presser.
🚨 Alexander Volkanovski says he wants to move up to fight Justin Gaethje for his retirement fight 👀
“I don’t want to hold divisions up, but I believe we could do this and not hold the divisions up.
That’s something I’d retire for. If they want to give me that opportunity, win or lose I’d retire.”
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 24, 2026
This is the third time Volkanovski has discussed this farewell bout. He first proposed the double-retirement idea on the Who Da Fook Are These Guys? podcast, suggesting a final fight with Gaethje where both men could retire together.
He repeated the idea at his UFC 333 media day appearance. During the event, he noted that many deserving fighters are waiting in the lightweight division, adding that he does not want to hold them up.
He added, “But I just look at it from a sense of, if I can fit into this equation, it could be the fact that we know Justin is unsure of what he wants to do… He doesn’t want to do rematches, I haven’t fought him and I don’t have any plans of retiring other than if we were to do something like this. Maybe we agree that it’s like, let’s have our last fight, superfight, champion vs. champion.”
Gaethje won the undisputed lightweight title on June 14, 2026, at UFC Freedom 250, pulling off a massive upset over Ilia Topuria, who retired on his stool after Round 4.
The 37-year-old champ has not fought since that bout, as he is currently serving a 180-day medical suspension for injuries suffered during that White House card. Amid this hiatus, “The Highlight” has shared that retirement is on his checklist.
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However, Volkanovski has struggled when moving up in weight previously, holding a 0-2 record in lightweight title fights following two losses to Islam Makhachev in 2023. It remains to be seen whether the UFC brass and Gaethje’s camp will agree to this cross-division title fight.
