Former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski’s title reign featured him asking a referee for mercy for his opponent.
Alexander Volkanovski beat The Korean Zombie by such a significant margin at UFC 273 that he questioned why referee Herb Dean allowed the fight to enter the fourth round.
At the height of his UFC featherweight title reign, Volkanovski faced a UFC legend in one of his title defenses at UFC 273. After an impressive win over Dan Ige, Zombie earned a date with Volkanovski in his second UFC title shot, after falling to José Aldo at UFC 163.
What resulted was one of Volkanovski’s virtuoso performances, albeit at Zombie’s expense.
Alexander Volkanovski felt merciful for The Korean Zombie in UFC 273 title fight
Volkanovski put on a clinic against Zombie, leaving the UFC legend’s face a bloody mess after three rounds of mostly one-sided action. As a defeated Zombie rose from his chair for the fourth round, some questioned whether or not his corner should’ve called off the fight, including Volkanovski.
As Round 4 kicked off, Volkanovski was heard on the broadcast asking Zombie ‘Are you sure?’ over whether or not he wanted to continue competing. 45 seconds later, Dean stepped in to stop the fight and award Volkanovski the TKO victory.
Volkanovski’s win pushed his star power to new heights and earned him long-overdue respect from fans and pundits after a controversial start to his title reign. But Volkanovski wasn’t happy with how his title defense ended after feeling Zombie suffered undeserved damage.
In an April 2022 appearance on The MMA Hour, Volkanovski explained the viral moment with his UFC 273 rival as the fourth round began.
“In the third round, I wanted to get that finish and was very close. He did well, was tough, when I was about to get the finish and just held out at the buzzer,” Volkanovski said.
“But I saw him in the corner, saw him on the ground, he was done. He was defeated, and even when he got up he was playing with his eye, wobbling to the center…so I just said to him ‘mate, are you sure you want to keep doing this? Are you sure?’
“Herb knew where I was at, I even said it a few times to stop it. Gave him a last little chance, but as soon as he ate a couple, he was going to go. I knew it was done, and sometimes with people being so tough, it’s worse for their own good. Didn’t want to just keep popping damage.”
Zombie went on to fight Volkanovski’s three-time rival, Max Holloway, in Aug. 2023 before announcing his retirement from MMA. He ended his career with a 17-8 record with wins over Frankie Edgar, Renato Moicano, and Dustin Poirier.
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Alexander Volkanovski aiming to overcome worrying trend at UFC 314
Volkanovski faces Diego Lopes in the UFC 314 main event this Saturday in Miami for the now-vacant featherweight title. Ilia Topuria announced his full-time move to lightweight earlier this year, prompting his title vacation.
But Volkanovski faces an uphill battle at UFC 314 as he looks to bounce back from back-to-back knockout losses and a lengthy hiatus. Former UFC titleholders are 2-6 so far this year, with Jiri Prochazka and Brandon Moreno being the lone victors.
Fighters over 35 years old (Volkanovski enters UFC 314 at age 36) have also struggled in recent UFC title fights. But Volkanovski will look to be the exception to the rule at UFC 314.
Volkanovski’s return comes more than a year after a knockout loss to Topuria at UFC 298. Before the Topuria defeat, Volkanovski lost in a short-notice rematch with Islam Makhachev at UFC 294, a quick turnaround in between knockouts.
Volkanovski is no stranger to overcoming the odds, as evidenced by past wins over Holloway, Chad Mendes, and Brian Ortega. He’ll look to replicate his UFC 273 output at UFC 314.