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Alexander Volkanovski reveals his family encouraged him to retire following title win at UFC 314

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Curtis Calhoun | Last updated Jul 8, 2025 4:26 PM ET

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski nearly walked away after regaining the belt at UFC 314.

Alexander Volkanovski overcame back-to-back knockout losses to regain the UFC featherweight title earlier this year over Diego Lopes at UFC 314. Volkanovski defeated Lopes by unanimous decision in a gritty five-round slugfest to kick off his second featherweight title reign.

Volkanovski, one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in MMA, has repeatedly shared the inner conflicts he dealt with during his recent losing skid. He admitted that had he lost to Lopes at UFC 314, he likely would’ve hung up the gloves and moved on to other ventures.

After his victory, Volkanovski is back in the driver’s seat in the UFC featherweight division. But Volkanovski still heard retirement calls in his inner circle following his bounceback performance.

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Alexander Volkanovski reveals his entire family wanted retirement after UFC 314

During a recent appearance on the MightyCast podcast, Volkanovski revealed how his family embraced his victory at UFC 314, and gave a surprising answer.

“Straight after the fight, my whole family is just like ‘Why didn’t you just put the gloves down in the middle of the Octagon straight away?’, they all want me to retire,” Volkanovski said.

“They all wanted me to, but now that I’m making the decision to keep going, I’m not probably going to bring that back up purely because they’re worried about affecting my frame of mind. Which I’ll be alright, they can say what they want, and maybe they’re just trying to be selective. But they made it clear that they all wanted me to stop straight after this fight.

“And I’m going to be real, no one wants to talk about this…but I was always fighting for money, looking after my family,” Volkanovski continued. “If I’m going to get punched in the face to do so, then whatever, and I’ll try not to! It’s never been about my actual legacy. Yeah, legacy that I leave behind, is only going to help me build my empire for my family. And that’s all that matters for me, the legacy will come with that.”

Volkanovski’s knockout losses to Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev were the first consecutive defeats of his legendary career. After falling to Topuria at UFC 298, Volkanovski took over a year away from the Octagon to decompress and regain his confidence, a decision that paid off.

Remarkably, Volkanovski’s victory at UFC 314 came despite a serious hand injury he suffered just minutes into the fight. Luckily, the injury wasn’t severe, and Volkanovski is expecting to return to the Octagon later this year.

But who Volkanovski will face for his first featherweight title defense of his second reign remains a mystery.

Alexander Volkanovski’s first title defense of second reign still uncertain

Undefeated featherweight contender Movsar Evloev will face UFC debutant Aaron Pico at UFC Abu Dhabi later this month. As UFC CEO Dana White recently confirmed, Evloev will earn a title shot for his next fight with a victory over Pico.

But one of Volkanovski’s former rivals is also in the mix for a title shot after a win at UFC 314. Yair Rodriguez has been rumored to be Volkanovski’s next opponent following his win over Patricio ‘Pitbull’ by unanimous decision.

As of this writing, nothing has been made official regarding Volkanovski’s next fight. Evloev’s performance later this month could go a long way in determining the next featherweight title matchup.