Alexander Volkanovski reveals family wanted him to lay down gloves and retire on UFC 314 night

Alexander Volkanovski recently opened up about his family's wish to see him retire after his title victory at UFC 314. Volkanovski addressed his family's concerns about continuing his MMA career.

Volkanovski made his octagon comeback after a 14-month break to take on surging contender Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight title in the main event of UFC 314 this April. The Australian emerged victorious via unanimous decision and became a two-time 145-pound champion.

In a recent conversation with former UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson on the MightyCast podcast, Volkanovski revealed that his family wanted him to retire from MMA after UFC 314:

''Straight after the fight, my whole family is just like ‘Why didn’t you just put the gloves down in the middle of the Octagon straight away?’, they all want me to retire. They all wanted me to, but now that I’m making the decision to keep going, I’m probably not going to bring that back up purely because they’re worried about affecting my frame of mind. Which I’ll be alright, they can say what they want, and maybe they’re just trying to be selective. But they made it clear that they all wanted me to stop straight after this fight.''

Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (15:41):

Volkanovski was coming off a devastating knockout defeat against Ilia Topuria, losing his featherweight belt in the process at UFC 298 last year. However, the 36-year-old made a strong return and solidified his legacy by beating Lopes at UFC 314. He is now expected to begin his second reign as a champion by facing Yair Rodriguez in a rematch.

Alexander Volkanovski comes clean about his knockout loss to Islam Makhachev

After failing in his first lightweight title bid against Islam Makhachev, Alexander Volkanovski took up the rematch on short notice at UFC 294 last year but suffered a brutal headkick in the opening round.

In the aforementioned interaction with Demetrious Johnson, Volkanovski discussed the repercussions, saying:

''I had a decent concussion from Islam [Makhachev]. I feel like I had more of a concussion from the Islam one. Even though I was knocked out longer with Ilia, I had a lot more of the symptoms with the Islam one. So I didn’t have head contact [in sparring], but then when you’re easing into it, now you’re easing into it, making sure you’re not getting hit. Trying to put yourself in safer positions, and you even start camp wrong. I should have had the break.” [1:18:38]

About the author

Swagat is a dynamic MMA writer with a total experience of a little less than a year, which includes time in retail and sports journalism. He holds an MBA degree.

Swagat fell in love with the sport after watching the iconic grudge match between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 in early 2015. Nate Diaz holds a special place in his heart for the Stockton native’s entertaining fan-friendly style and ability to deliver exciting fights regardless of the opponent.

In terms of rule changes in MMA, Swagat advocates for making scores public after each round, adding transparency to judging decisions.

Swagat prioritizes accuracy and relevance while writing and conducts thorough research to ensure the content is fresh and reliable.

He enjoys playing football and painting during his free time.

Know More

Follow One Championship News, Schedule & Results at Sportskeeda.

Edited by Swagat Kumar Jena