There’s a lot of talk about 37-year-old Alexander Volkanovski‘s future in mixed martial arts – and now, Joe Lopez has weighed in on the debate.

At UFC 333, Alexander Volkanovski will defend the UFC featherweight championship against Movsar Evloev. Movsar has been the expected challenger for a long time now, and it’s finally time for him to shoot his shot against the man who is considered by many to be the greatest featherweight of all time – and certainly in the UFC.

Alexander Volkanovski himself knows that he is in the twilight of his career, but he is attempting to further his legacy beyond what it already is.

In a recent interview, Joe Lopez gave his thoughts on Alexander Volkanovski possibly retiring if he loses badly at UFC 333, which he has suggested could be a possibility.

Joe Lopez opens up on Alexander Volkanovski’s future

“At the end of the day, it’s his decision, not mine,” Lopez told Submission Radio of Volkanovski. “We’ll discuss it with him obviously and go through it but knowing Alex, if he loses, he’ll go, ‘I don’t want to go out on a loss and I want to come back and get it back. Come back on a win.’ I just know how competitive he is. I just know the way he is so it’s a fine line or a two-edged sword that we’re playing here.”

“I was happy after the first Diego fight, I would have been happy if he went out then,” Lopez said. “Every fight is a gamble. The thing is Alex always comes in well prepared, and he’s looking probably better and stronger than he has done in a long time.” Quotes via MMA Junkie

Regardless of what Volkanovski decides to do next, we should all consider ourselves grateful that we got to see him in action for as long as we have. Hopefully, he’s able to put on a great show with Evloev in what has the potential to be a fascinating title encounter.

For Evloev, he knows that this is his big shot at glory, and he can’t afford to waste it.

Ian Shutts

A combat sports journalist specialising in MMA, Boxing and Muay Thai with a special interest in Asian combat sports.