Where is Alexander Volkanovski in the GOAT ranking after UFC 333? Revisiting the debate
Alexander Volkanovski authored a fine performance at UFC 333, and it's one that warrants reviewing his standing in the GOAT ranking.
At UFC 333, Alexander Volkanovski put an end to the debate about who the greatest featherweight of all time is. Some holdouts refused to entertain the notion that he had already eclipsed JosƩ Aldo, but at this point, it's undeniable. Now, the question is where does he fit in the overall GOAT ranking?
Alexander Volkanovski is top five all-time
The debate about the MMA GOAT is a tricky one. At one point, Anderson Silva was widely regarded as the greatest fighter of all time, but his abysmal decline made him fall beneath other fighters who have rarely ever tasted defeat. So, now Jon Jones is widely praised as the MMA GOAT, with Georges St-Pierre as a very close second, though there's now talk of Islam Makhachev potentially surpassing 'Bones' as the greatest fighter of all time. All three men are ahead of Alexander Volkanovski on the sport's Mt. Rushmore, but that fourth spot is now solidly his. Neither 'The Spider' nor JosƩ Aldo should be ranked ahead of him at this point.
First, Volkanovski's win at UFC 333 was his seventh successful title defense, tying Aldo's record for the most title defenses in the featherweight division. Second, he did it by defying the previously undefeated Father Time, as he continues to dominate despite being 38 years old, which is an almost unprecedented feat in the lighter weight classes. Speaking of undefeated, 'The Great's' caliber of opponents needs to be highlighted. At UFC 333, he TKO'd Movsar Evloev within two rounds. An Evloev who was not only 20-0 prior, but had beaten high-level fighters like Lerone Murphy and former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling.
However, there's more. The champion thrice defeated one of the greatest featherweights of all time in Max Holloway, whose skill is such that he styled on reigning UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje at UFC 300. He also dismantled another all-time great featherweight in Aldo at UFC 237, outclassing him in a unanimous decision win. There are also his two wins over Diego Lopes, and his TKOs of ex-interim featherweight champion Yair Rodriguez and three-time featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes. While he has losses on his record, the context behind them needs to be taken into account.
His first-ever UFC loss was to Makhachev at UFC 284. The fight was at lightweight, a division above, against a much larger man known for being too physical for other lightweights. Yet, Volkanovski, a featherweight, gave him the toughest fight of his career. His second loss, also to Makhachev, was under suboptimal circumstances. Volkanovski had stepped in on 11 days' notice. He was woefully underprepared and was knocked out for his trouble. Then, in just a few months, he dropped back down to featherweight to defend his title against a heavy-handed, generational talent in Ilia Topuria, who won the fight via knockout.
The losses are there, but they're not nearly as bad as they're made out to be, and they've done nothing to take away from the strength of his legacy.
