Alexander Volkanovski at 38: The Closest Thing Combat Sports Has Had to GSP

During Monday's episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, Helwani praised "The Great" after he won at UFC 333. The 38-year-old stopped the previously undefeated Movsar Evloev in the second round to defend his featherweight title for the second time in his second reign.

Ariel Helwani Explains Why Alexander Volkanovski Reminds Him of GSP

Ariel Helwani explained what the two have in common. He said:

“The way he conducts himself, the way he fights, the way he has evolved, the way he has never changed as a human being.”

He recalled that, early on, the UFC did not want to give Volkanovski a title shot because the promotion found him not entertaining. The Aussie still beat Chad Mendes at UFC 232 and Jose Aldo at UFC 237. In December 2019, he beat Max Holloway at UFC 234 to become the first Australian-born UFC champion, and he went on to defend his belt five times.

In 2023, Volkanovski also moved up to lightweight to challenge Islam Makhachev but lost both times. The second loss was a first-round head-kick knockout at UFC 294. Four months later, Ilia Topuria defeated "The Great" by knockout at UFC 298 to take the featherweight strap. Helwani revealed that most fighters and fans thought it was the end of Volkanovski.

However, he returned strong by winning the vacant title against Diego Lopes at UFC 314 and beat him again in January in a rematch. Now, at UFC 333, he fought Evloev while he was down with a chest infection and still managed to TKO the Russian. Helwani said:

“This guy’s a sicko. And I don’t mean like he’s a sicko because he was sick. He welcomes this. He gets excited about this.”

Alexander Volkanovski vs. Georges St-Pierre: How Their Careers Compare

George St-Pierre, like Volk, also lost and earned back his title. Matt Serra knocked him out at UFC 69 in 2007, and the veteran beat Serra a year later at UFC 83 to reclaim the welterweight belt. He then defended it nine times in a row.

Both St. Pierre and Volkanovski are big names in their countries. GSP was the first MMA fighter inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, while Volkanovski is one of Australia's biggest sports stars. Helwani said that Volkanovski:

“Carries his country’s flag with such pride, with such honor, with such dignity.”

Helwani, however, does not want "The Great" to retire anytime soon. The 29-4 champion wants a superfight against Lightweight titleholder Justin Gaethje and said he would retire after that. Helwani is not on board with his retirement idea. He said:

“I don’t want to see Volk retire. Who wants to see him retire? He’s not slowing down.”