At one point in time, Alexander Volkanovski was on top of the world in more ways than one. Near the end of 2023, his legacy as an all-time great in the sport had firmly been cemented after defending his featherweight strap against Yair Rodríguez, making it the fifth consecutive time he had retained his belt.
Alexander Volkanovski Goes Down in Defeat In UFC 284
He also put on one of the greatest performances of his life versus the reigning lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in his native Australia. The bout ended up going to the judges’ scorecards, where “The Great” suffered his first loss in almost ten years by unanimous decision, but not before almost finishing the Russian in the waning seconds of the fight.