Alexander Volkanovski

Alexander Volkanovski kept the UFC featherweight title on 24 October 2026, stopping Movsar Evloev with a second-round TKO at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi [2]. It was the latest defence in a career that has put him at the top of the division twice. He won the belt from Max Holloway in 2019 and won it back from Diego Lopes in 2025 [1].

Winning the belt from Holloway

Before the Holloway fight, he had beaten Chad Mendes by TKO at UFC 232 on 29 December 2018, and Jose Aldo by unanimous decision at UFC 237 on 11 May 2019 [1]. Neither fight is listed as a title bout on his profile [1].

Volkanovski's first UFC title came at UFC 245 on 14 December 2019, when he beat Max Holloway by unanimous decision [1]. He defended it at UFC 251 on 11 July 2020, winning a split decision over Holloway again [1].

The next title defences followed in quick succession. At UFC 266 on 25 September 2021 he won a unanimous decision over Brian Ortega [1]. At UFC 273 on 9 April 2022 he retained the belt by strikes over Chan Sung Jung [1]. At UFC 276 on 2 July 2022 he beat Holloway by unanimous decision once more [1].

Of the five title fights from UFC 245 to UFC 276, four went to the scorecards and one ended on strikes [1].

Two lightweight losses

Volkanovski then moved up a division. At UFC 284 on 12 February 2023 he lost a unanimous decision to Islam Makhachev in a lightweight title bout [1]. Between those two Makhachev fights, he had kept the featherweight belt at UFC 290 on 8 July 2023, winning by strikes over Yair Rodriguez [1]. The rematch with Makhachev came at UFC 294 on 21 October 2023, and Makhachev knocked him out in round one [1].

Those two defeats were both at lightweight. His featherweight belt was not taken until later [1]. The UFC profile lists both as lightweight title fights, and the featherweight belt stayed with him until UFC 298 [1]. He kept it through those two bouts, so the lightweight attempts did not cost him his place at featherweight [1].

Losing the belt to Topuria, then winning it back

At UFC 298 on 17 February 2024, Ilia Topuria knocked Volkanovski out in round two and took the featherweight title [1]. That was the first time the belt had left him since the 2019 win over Holloway [1].

He returned to the top of the division at UFC 314 on 12 April 2025, when he won the belt back by unanimous decision over Diego Lopes [1]. At UFC 325 on 31 January 2026 he retained it with another unanimous decision over Lopes [1].

Through UFC 325, the title fights listed on his profile include eight wins and three losses [1]. The three losses were the two lightweight bouts with Makhachev and the defeat to Topuria [1].

UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi

UFC 333 took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday 24 October 2026 [2]. Evloev was finally getting his shot at featherweight gold, and the bout was billed for the UFC featherweight championship [3]. At the weigh-in Volkanovski came in at 144.5 pounds and Evloev at 145 [3].

The fight ended in round two. Follow-up ground strikes prompted referee Marc Goddard to stop the contest with six seconds left in the round, at 4:54 [2]. The result was a TKO by punches [2]. Reports of the result describe it as a retained title, with Volkanovski keeping the belt he had held since UFC 314 [2] [1].

Record, age and where he stands

The UFC profile lists his record as 29-4-0 and his age as 38 [1]. TheSportsDB gives his birth date as 29 September 1988 [4]. The UFC site gives his nickname as "The Great" and ranks him number two in its pound-for-pound list [1].

On the birthplace, the two sources differ. The UFC profile says Wollongong, Australia [1], while TheSportsDB says Shellharbour, New South Wales [4]. The UFC page is the primary source for the listing, so the article follows it.

The UFC profile still shows him as the featherweight title holder [1]. The UFC 333 result is the most recent entry on that profile [1].