Alexander Volkanovski chases history at UFC 298, eyes entry into pantheon of UFC greats with record title defense
Alexander Volkanovski has a chance to join an exclusive list with a win at UFC 298.
With all eyes on Volkanovski's featherweight title defense against Ilia Topuria on Feb. 17, Sportsnet reporter Aaron Bronsteter has brought up an interesting fact, giving 'The Great' something to gain in his 30th professional fight. Per Bronsteter's report, Volkanovski will become just the eighth fighter in UFC history to pick up his sixth consecutive title defense with a win.
On the current list of elite champions, Bronsteter named Demetrious Johnson, Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey, Georges St. Pierre, Jose Aldo, and Valentina Shevchenko as the only fighters to do so.
On the current list of UFC champions with the most title defenses, Johnson still holds the record with 11 title defenses as the former flyweight champion. Silva also holds a unique record with the longest win streak, 16, in promotional history.
Since defeating Max Holloway in 2019 to become the champion, Volkanovski has not lost the featherweight belt, picking up title defenses over Holloway, Brian Ortega, Chan Sung Jung and Yair Rodriguez. Heading into UFC 298, Volkanovski is the UFC's longest-reigning active champion.
Islam Makhachev sends Alexander Volkanovki's daughters a gift following viral video
Alexander Volkanovski has found the affection of MMA fans leading into UFC 298 with his humor. Though the 'old man' gimmick has received most of the attention, Volkanovski also released a comedic video during fight week with his daughter mocking him for his loss to Islam Makhachev.
In the video, Volkanovski's daughter asked him what would happen if a robber attacked their house. Responding to her father saying they would be okay due to his status as a fighter, the young girl asked, "what if" the robber was Makhachev, referencing Volkanovski's two recent losses.
Updating fans, Volkanovski released a new video the day of UFC 298 to report that Makhachev saw the video and sent his daughters gifts along with a message to assure them that he would never intrude on their home.
Volkanovski graciously thanked his former rival while calling him a 'great' person. Since competing twice in 2023, Volkanovski and Makhachev have appeared to develop a friendly connection while entertaining the idea of training together in the future.