Volkanovski open to Topuria rematch if Gaethje fight falls through

Retirement options expand from double-title bout to revenge fight

Tsarukyan enters picture, calls Volkanovski 'old and chinny'

Alexander Volkanovski (left, Australia) and Ilia Topuria (Spain) exchange strikes during the UFC 298 featherweight title fight at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, in February 2024. Volkanovski lost the bout by second-round knockout, surrendering the championship belt. [Getty Images]

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski (38, Australia), who is planning his "last dance," has again floated Ilia Topuria (29, Spain) as a retirement opponent. Having already proposed a super fight with lightweight champion Justin Gaethje (37, United States), Volkanovski has now expressed interest in a revenge bout against the man who knocked him out.

In a recent interview with Australian combat sports journalist Brendan Bradford, Volkanovski said he would be open to a rematch with former featherweight and lightweight champion Topuria if a fight with Gaethje cannot be made.

"Ideally it would have been great to have the lightweight title on the line — I could avenge that title loss to Topuria," Volkanovski said of his retirement fight. "Gaethje broke Topuria's unbeaten record, so my chance to do that is gone, but I still want to avenge the loss."

"I have no bad feelings toward Topuria. He's a great fighter and a good person," he added. "But I'm a competitor. I want to test myself against him again."

Volkanovski lost the featherweight title to Topuria by second-round knockout at UFC 298 in February 2024. He reclaimed the belt after Topuria moved up to lightweight.

Volkanovski successfully defended the title Saturday at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, stopping unbeaten challenger Movsar Evloev (32, Russia) by second-round TKO. His career record stands at 29 wins and four losses.

Gaethje had long been Volkanovski's preferred retirement opponent. Earlier this month, Volkanovski proposed a super fight pitting the two champions against each other, even suggesting both men retire together after the bout.

Gaethje, however, has been focused on recovering from injury since winning the lightweight title by defeating Topuria last June. His return is expected next year, though retirement has also been mentioned as a possibility.

Volkanovski said that if Gaethje retires, he could fight someone else in his final bout, adding that he plans to retire regardless of the outcome and would not hold up the title picture in either weight class.

Arman Tsarukyan (Armenia) celebrates after knocking out Mauricio Ruffy (Brazil) in a lightweight bout at UFC 331 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, in September. [Getty Images]

However, whether a rematch with Topuria will actually materialize remains uncertain. Even if Gaethje vacates the lightweight title, a number of strong contenders are waiting in the division, including Arman Tsarukyan (30, Armenia).

In a recent interview with combat sports reporter Helen Yee, Tsarukyan claimed someone is avoiding him — namely Justin Gaethje. "Now he's talking about retirement," Tsarukyan said. He added that Gaethje would fight if the UFC paid him enough but would otherwise retire, and that the UFC had told him to expect an answer on his next fight by late November.

Tsarukyan also said he would be willing to fight Volkanovski instead of Gaethje. "Of course I'll fight him. Stylistically he's a good matchup for me," he said. "He's old and his chin is weak. He's a tough opponent, but he's getting up there in age. It's a perfect fight for me."

Volkanovski challenged then-lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (35, Russia) twice in 2023 and lost both times. A third shot at the lightweight title, should it come together, could be his last chance to become a two-division champion.

With Gaethje's future uncertain and Volkanovski now putting a revenge fight with Topuria on the table as another retirement option, attention is turning to how the UFC lightweight division's matchmaking will unfold.

yjc@heraldcorp.com