Alexander Volkanovski finally lost his featherweight championship after a four-year-long reign. In a definitive result, Ilia Topuria knocked out ‘The Great’ in the second round in the main event of UFC 298. This has led many people to wonder if Volkanovski is on the decline. Let us take a closer look at that possibility.

‘The Great’ has been an unstoppable force in the featherweight division of the UFC. However, his recent performances have raised doubts about how long he can perform at the highest level. UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov once mentioned the reality of being on top as a fighter in the sport of MMA. Let’s see what the legend from Dagestan had to say and how it might be coming true for ‘Volk.’

Khabib Nurmagomedov once claimed that nobody can stay on top forever

Days before ‘The Eagle’s final UFC fight against Justin Gaethje, he appeared in an interview with ESPN. There, he discussed longtime rival Tony Ferguson, who had lost for the first time after amassing an impressive 12-fight winning streak. Khabib Nurmagomedov mentioned that although he was undefeated at that time, no fighter could stay at the helm of the sport for too long, not even himself.

“Nobody can be same long time. Nobody. No Tony Ferguson, no Khabib, nobody,” said Khabib Nurmagomedov. What’s more, he confidently stated that Ferguson would not be the same after the beating he took at the hands of Gaethje at UFC 249. True to the Dagestani’s claim, ‘El Cucuy’ is now on a 7-fight losing streak.

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As we know, the sport of MMA is evolving day by day with new breeds of competitive fighters. This is one reason why someone who’s been at the top for some time is bound to go up against a better fighter and eventually end up losing. Nurmagomedov added, “One day, someone gonna beat you or something gonna happen.”

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‘The Eagle’ further stated, “God don’t give to nobody. Like, power, like, reaction, mental, everything [will be] in one level always. One day it’s gonna go down.” While the Hall of Famer talked about Tony Ferguson when he mentioned the decline of fighters, let’s see how ‘El Cucuy’s downfall took place.

Tony Ferguson, once on a 12-fight winning streak, has now lost 7 in a row

There was a time when people argued that Tony Ferguson could be the greatest lightweight fighter ever. He ran through some of the best fighters in the 155-pound division, including the likes of Edson Barboza, Rafael dos Anjos, and Anthony Pettis, just to name a few. However, 2020 marked the end of Ferguson’s incredible run after he lost for the first time in eight years to Justin Gaethje.

However, many believed that it was just a hurdle in ‘El Cucuy’s path as he came back to fight in the same year against Charles Oliveira, but things did not work out that time either. ‘Do Bronxs’ defeated Tony Ferguson via unanimous decision, raising doubts among UFC fans regarding the former interim champion’s future in the UFC.

Despite two losses in a row, Tony Ferguson was not ready to give up and refused to believe that his days inside the Octagon were numbered. However, he did not find any positive results after his 12-fight winning streak ended in 2020. Ferguson lost another five fights against the likes of Michael Chandler, Nate Diaz, Beneil Dariush, Bobby Green, and most recently, Paddy Pimblett, for whom he trained with former Navy SEAL David Goggins. With seven losses in a row, fans have urged ‘El Cucuy’ to consider retirement and avoid too much punishment on his body. Now, when we turn our attention to Alexander Volkanovski, he seems to going down a path similar to Tony Ferguson.

Alexander Volkanovski registered 3 losses in under a year

The Aussie featherweight icon had never lost a fight until 2023 while fighting at Dana White‘s promotion. He dominated the featherweight division, beating some of the best the UFC had to offer. However, Alexander Volkanovski’s quest to become a double champion caused him to lose for the first time in the UFC. He took on Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in his home country of Australia. It was a competitive match, and it even won the ‘Fight of the Year’ honor for the year 2022-23 at the World MMA Awards. To the Australian’s credit, even the lightweight champion mentioned getting overwhelmed by Volkanovski in that fight.

Unfortunately, Alexander Volkanovski could not edge past Islam Makhachev and lost the fight via unanimous decision. But he could cut himself some slack since it was more of a moral defeat than a competitive one. The featherweight champion ended the fight in a more dominant position than Makhachev and earned everyone’s praise.

With this momentum, he once again proved his prowess at featherweight when he finished the dynamic Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290. Despite undergoing hand surgery shortly after this fight, ‘Volk’ made a quick turnaround and took the UFC 294 bout against Makahchev on short notice. This is proving to be his undoing.

Makhachev ended the fight fairly quickly in the first round with an impressive head-kick knockout. Against the advice to take time off and recover, Volkanovski jumped back into the featherweight division to defend his title against the surging contender Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. With no featherweight contender being able to bring down ‘The Great’ in the past, he went into the fight as a favorite. However, Volkanovski ended up getting knocked out yet again in the second round as the title changed hands after four years.

Now, at 35, the numbers are against the former champion. The lower weight classes have time and again proved to be a young man’s game. Volkanovski may still be the same fighter at heart but is his body playing catch-up now? Does he have it in him to give one more shot at the title and succeed? Or has the struggles of 2023 taken him to a point of no return?

Volkanovski has expressed his wish to fight Ilia Topuria in a rematch. We can only wait and see how things pan out if Dana White decides to set up that fight.

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