Alexander Volkanovski is accustomed to retirement talks. However, ‘The Great’ finally decided to address the possibility ahead of his second title defense against Movsar Evloev at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi. The two-time featherweight champion could lay down his gloves at the Etihad Arena if he suffers a bad loss.

“If things go terribly wrong, all right, we’re done,” Volkanovski told Australia’s 10 News. “If things go very well like the last one, no damage, go through, all right, we’ll keep it rolling.”

For the 37-year-old Volkanovski, who will turn 38 on September 29, accepting that retirement might be imminent is nothing unusual. But surprisingly, the Aussie isn’t the only one thinking along those lines. His opponent, Movsar Evloev, is also considering a similar possibility.

Red Fury MMA shared Volkanovski’s take on retirement on Instagram, where they received a comment from Evloev suggesting that he could also retire if he loses to ‘The Great’.

“Same thing,” Evloev wrote as per the X post.

If the Russian’s statement has conviction behind it, we are going to witness a guaranteed retirement on October 24. To be fair, in Volkanovski’s case, it’s more than understandable that the Aussie is contemplating retirement after years of battle inside the Octagon, and he’s pushing almost 40.

On the contrary, the Russian is only 32 years old and holds an undefeated 20-0 record. So, it’s pretty hard to comprehend why Evloev is also considering saying goodbye to the sport, which is surprising to say the least. 

As of now, the Ingushetia-based fighter hasn’t reflected on the proper details behind his statement, but we are expected to know the reason once he decides to convey it to the media.

But this is actually not the first time Evloev has pondered retirement. In fact, he once thought he might never fight again after suffering an illness following his win over Aljamain Sterling at UFC 310. 

In an interview with MMA Fighting, Evloev revealed that he contracted a severe illness, possibly COVID-19, after traveling to Thailand for training purposes. According to him, the disease affected his cardiovascular activity and immune system, and the symptoms became a recurring problem whenever he did cardio.

The issue eventually became severe enough that Evloev thought he might never be able to fight again. 

Though the illness ruled Evloev out for the entirety of 2025, he finally made an amazing return at UFC Fight Night London. The Russian defeated Lerone Murphy in the main event to earn a title shot against Alexander Volkanovski. 

That said, despite the retirement talks, predictions have been flying with only two months remaining until the clash, and ‘The Great’s coach has finally made some interesting take about their next challenge.   

Alexander Volkanovski’s coach not rattled by Evloev’s challenge 

Ahead of UFC 333, the oddsmakers have kept Movsar Evloev as a slight favorite against the two-time featherweight champion. But that factor doesn’t seem to bother Alexander Volkanovski’s longtime coach, Joe Lopez, who believes the Russian is actually a good matchup for the Aussie.

“Defensive grappling more than anything,” Lopez told Fox Sports Australia. “But Volk is very good on the ground. It’s the ideal matchup for him, personally.”

Well, there is a reason why Joe Lopez believes Alexander Volkanovski can actually shine against Movsar Evloev more than some of his other opponents.

‘The Great’s most glaring weakness tends to show when he leaves his chin in the air against strikers who know how to cut off the cage. Ilia Topuria shared a blueprint for that approach at UFC 298 when he knocked Volkanovski out cold.

In fact, Diego Lopes caught the Aussie multiple times using a similar approach in both of their fights, but he couldn’t press hard enough to get the job done. However, with Evloev, the Volkanovski camp would need to worry about those things a little less.

The Russian can definitely catch ‘Volk’ off guard, but almost all of his wins have come via decision, with his grappling being his primary weapon.

Indeed, Evloev presents his own threat of controlling the fight on the mat, but Volkanovski has already gone toe-to-toe with Islam Makhachev at UFC 284, and that too in the lightweight division. In that sense, the reigning champion shouldn’t have much trouble escaping Evloev’s traps.

But, as we know, sometimes MMA math just doesn’t work, as camps can take a much different approach for each fight.

That said, the mystery around Volkanovski and Evloev’s retirement plans will be disclosed soon enough. However, before that, we can expect a matchup that could turn into a technical grappling masterclass.