Alexander Volkanovski made UFC history on Saturday night at UFC 314, becoming the first fighter over 35 years old to win a title in weight classes 155lbs and below.
Following back-to-back knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, UFC fans feared that Alexander Volkanovski‘s time at the top of the sport could be over.
Despite that, at UFC 314 on Saturday in Miami, Volkanovski turned back the clock and put on a vintage performance, becoming a two-time UFC featherweight champion after beating Diego Lopes.
The 35-year-old once again had to overcome adversity as he was knocked down early in the fight, and even lost his eye-sight in the later rounds.
- READ MORE: Diego Lopes breaks his silence following devastating UFC 314 loss to Alexander Volkanovski
Alexander Volkanovski joined exclusive group of fighters with UFC 314 win
‘The Great’ Volkanovski is now just one more title win away from Jose Aldo‘s record of eight title wins in the featherweight division, continuing to move closer to being regarded as the greatest featherweight of all time.
And with his win over the hard-hitting Brazilian at UFC 314, Volkanovski joined an exclusive list of fighters to have lost their title via TKO/KO losses to go on to reclaim their title.
There were nine fighters previously on the list to have completed the feat, including the aforementioned Aldo, Georges St-Pierre, Israel Adesanya, and more.
St-Pierre, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time, shockingly lost his title to huge underdog, Matt Serra, before getting revenge a year later in 2008.
Adesanya made it onto the list after scoring a brutal KO win over Alex Pereira to reclaim his middleweight title after losing to him in 2022.
Heavyweights, Stipe Miocic and Cain Velasquez also make the list, whilst Rose Namajunas, Zhang Weili, and Carla Esparza represent the female divisions on the list.
Alexander Volkanovski’s next title defense could already be set
Immediately after his emotional win over Lopes, Volkanovski was called out by Movsar Evloev, who is undefeated at 19-0.
Before UFC 314, both Volkanovski and Lopes agreed that Evloev is likely next to fight for the title, however, the Australian has worried fans with his update on how quickly he would like to return to fight the Russian.
However, with Aldo’s record now just within touching distance, the 35-year-old wants to defend the title twice before the end of 2025, potentially ending the year as the greatest featherweight fighter of all time.