Alexander Volkanovski has a UFC exit strategy — but a loss to Ilia Topuria isn’t a part of it

Alexander Volkanovski has an exit strategy from the UFC – it just doesn't involve a second straight loss or relinquishing his featherweight belt to Ilia Topuria this weekend.

Volkanovski (26-3) will put on the line in Anaheim the belt he has held since December 2019, when he beat Max Holloway by unanimous decision, just five months after seeing his dreams of double champion brutally snatched from him by Islam Makhachev.

In the immediate aftermath of that crushing defeat, Volkanovski gave an emotional insight into his psyche, leading many to wonder if, after such a dominant run, cracks were suddenly beginning to emerge within the usually unflappable Australian.

But he says that's not the case and that life after mixed martial arts doesn't worry him, even though he admitted after his loss to Makhachev that he “needs to fight” for its own sake -be mental.

“This is obviously going to be a question [people have]especially after seeing what I talked about [after the second loss to Islam]but they don't realize that right now all that matters to me is my career and my family,” Volkanovski told ESPN.

“I know my career [will end], I am already prepared, I have a good team around me, I understand that. I know what motivates me right now. But I'm in my prime and I know time is limited, so obviously there's pressure.

“But I know that once this is done, I'm going to have to change [my life]. There won't be a fighting career, as you say, so that energy will have to shift to business, whatever it may be, or commentary, or behind the camera; I know this will change, I am aware of it. But many people don't know what motivates them. I'm lucky to do it.

“But right now, that's why we get nervous when we don't capitalize on our time, like I'm in my prime; don't waste my time, put me in the Octagon , let me make my money, let me build. this legacy and let me do my thing, then let me do it again until I'm done. For now, that's all that I can do; it's family and fighting; after that, it will change.

One man confident Volkanovski won't fight for too long is his trainer, Joe Lopez, who has been the fighter's corner throughout his mixed martial arts career. Although Lopez says there are “no regrets” about the decision to take Makhachev's revenge on 11 days' notice, rejecting suggestions that it was irresponsible, he agrees that Volkanovski is closer to the end of his career than the beginning and wants to secure his life. retired for his office will be just as good as he is now.

Like I always say, we have these drills or drills that we do every week, and when he doesn't stick to those schedules, that's when I have to say, 'Hey, Alex, he might be- be time to hang on, put your gloves on,'” Lopez told ESPN when asked if Volkanovski's best performances were still ahead of him.

“But at the moment he's still hitting all the time, at the moment the body is still there, the spirit is still there, so we'll keep going. We only have maybe a few years left. I don't think so that we 'wouldn't want to go there any more than that.

“And our whole goal, or at least for me as a coach and a friend, was to prepare him for life so that he doesn't have to fight anymore. He has a beautiful family and I just want all the better for him in the future, so he doesn't have to be one of those guys who has to keep fighting because they didn't save their money or didn't manage their money well.

While his Cooking with Volk videos on YouTube show a keen culinary interest, among other activities and investments, the 35-year-old freely admits that he is most comfortable in camp, working towards his next entry into the Octagon.

But Volkanovski also knows he can't keep going forever, even if he insists he's in great shape at 35 and plans to prove it against Topuria this weekend.

“I still feel good. I think I'll definitely teach this guy a lesson and remind everyone – a lot of people are. [saying] “Is he finished, is he this, is he that – but I guarantee you, on February 18, they're going to say he has nothing left at featherweight, he has to do this, he has to do that, then we'll see what happens next.

“But I want to be active. We are already organizing dates; obviously I take Ilia seriously, but I would love to bounce back, if there is another card in Australia later in the year, maybe I I'll have one first and then come back here [to Sydney]. I don’t know, but it’s definitely a good year we’re going to have this year.”

While this will draw laughs from many UFC fans, Volkanovski hasn't given up hope of becoming a two-division UFC champion. However, he acknowledges that defeat to Makhachev in Abu Dhabi made that goal much more difficult.

Taking the fight on 11 days' notice was bold, but coach Lopez said the fact Volkanovski had “hitting luck” was reason enough to take a “gamble.”

When asked if there was a situation in which he would drop out of featherweight competition and commit entirely to the lightweight division, Volkanovski replied: “I don't know. I don't know. I I'm just glad there's a clear guy, right? Now that's all I really think about at featherweight [division] Right now, I'm not really paying attention to everything that's going on.

“But there's no light guy besides Ilia at the moment, it's this guy, he's the one talking and all my attention is there. But obviously the lightness always excites me a lot, [so] until there is another clear guy, or there is a job or a date set [at featherweight]it's very easy for me to devote all my energy to this [lightweight]. But like I said, all my energy is currently focused on Ilia.”

If anything, Volkanovski's emotional post-fight press conference may have brought him even more attention from the Australian sports community and UFC fans around the world.

Honest and raw, it was a timely reminder that even some of the toughest people on the planet have moments of vulnerability. And that's not a bad thing.

But he also wants to put that night behind him by silencing Topuria at UFC 298, proving he remains one of the promotion's elite fighters.

“I'm going to make a statement and humiliate Ilia 100%,” Volkanovski told ESPN. “Winning isn't enough. That doesn't mean it has to be the end. Obviously, that would be great; I'm not really interested in that.

“But if I end up finishing, I want to embarrass him first, I want to teach him a lesson first, I want to humiliate him first, because if I go out there and knock him out, he goes [just say] 'he caught me'.

“I'm going to show you that I'm a step ahead and that you have a lot of work to do, and you're going to thank me later because you're going to work hard now and you're going to earn your stripes rather than just give them away. And then I'm going to finish you off. That's what I intend to do.