Alexander Volkanovski has a plethora of memorable UFC victories, but it is a defeat that seemingly stands out to him the most.
Volkanovski has been a mainstay at the top of the featherweight division for years, and even after Ilia Topuria unseated him in brutal fashion early last year, it did not take long for the Australian to make his way back to the throne.
This past April, Volkanovski won the title by defeating Diego Lopes at UFC 314, becoming a two-time champ with a vintage performance in Miami.
That result joined dominant victories over the likes of Max Holloway and Yair Rodriguez on Volkanovski’s illustrious résumé, but none of those wins mark the champ’s “favorite” outing inside the Octagon.
Alexander Volkanovski names five-round Islam Makhachev war as his ‘favorite fight’
During a recent appearance on Out Cold with UFC legend Chuck Liddell, Volkanovski was asked whether he has a “favorite fight” from his career on MMA’s biggest stage thus far.
Alongside Volkanovski’s memorable title defense against Brian Ortega, the Australian interestingly highlighted the first of two losses to then-lightweight champ Islam Makhachev.
Before being knocked out in their short-notice rematch, Volkanovski went five rounds with Makhachev in a thrilling and competitive battle in Australia. Many even believed that the home favorite had done enough to deserve the victory on the scorecards in Perth.
“Favorite fight I’ve ever been in…I did enjoy — obviously I lost the Islam fight, the first one, but I really enjoyed that,” Volkanovski said.
“I love the fact that through that fight — when it comes to scrambling, I am usually good with the takedown defense…but the fact that he was able to go all them steps with me, I found that it was a bit of a chess match.
“I really enjoyed that,” Volkanovski continued. “That’s something that I really appreciated. I was able to go so deep with the wrestling, grappling side of things.”
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Alexander Volkanovski is not getting his opponent wish granted by the UFC
Following his return to the featherweight throne in Miami this year, Volkanovski made it clear what he wants next.
While some may shy away from the toughest tests in the late stage of their career, the Australian is instead welcoming them. The undefeated Movsar Evloev is Volkanovski’s preference, with ‘Alexander the Great’ chomping at the bit to get the chance to hand the Russian his first loss.
“I’m going off just fighting, that’s it,” Volkanovski told Demetrious Johnson about his desire to fight Evloev. “But there’s so much more, right? There’s pay-per-views, who you are, hype around you, how many finishes. We know that, and that’s why I’m like, ‘I’ll fight anyone.’
“But then you ask me who I would be most excited for, it probably would be Movsar in the fact that he deserves it.
“He’s undefeated,” Volkanovski continued. “The last undefeated guy I lost to, so I haven’t been able to take someone’s zero yet. So there’s another reason.”
The UFC, though, snubbed Evloev and instead booked him to face newcomer Aaron Pico. While that bout was set to go down on July 26 in Abu Dhabi and would have given the Russian a chance to finally secure a maiden title shot, he has withdrawn due to an injury.
With that, the first defense of Volkanovski’s second title reign remains up in the air.