Alexander Volkanovski has one more idea for the end of his career — and it involves a second belt.
Days before he defends his featherweight title against Movsar Evloev at UFC 333, the 38-year-old champion used an appearance on the "Who Da Fook Are These Guys?" podcast on October 15, 2026 to pitch a champion-versus-champion superfight with Justin Gaethje, with the lightweight title on the line.
Volkanovski framed the fight as a career send-off for both men. "Let us do a superfight, lightweight title on the line, and then we can both [retire]... Let us make that happen," he said.
The pitch carries a certain logic. Gaethje, 37, became the undisputed UFC lightweight champion at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House in June 2026, when Ilia Topuria's corner stopped the fight after four rounds. Gaethje has publicly questioned the value of rematches and suggested he may have only one more fight in him. Volkanovski cited that as the rationale: if Gaethje has one fight left, make it count.
Volkanovski holds the featherweight title at 28-4. His only lightweight appearances came in two title fights against Islam Makhachev — a unanimous decision loss at UFC 284 in February 2023, followed by a first-round knockout loss in a short-notice rematch at UFC 294 in October 2023. He is 0-2 in those bouts.
That history is the complicated part. A third attempt at the lightweight crown would mean facing a different champion, on a different kind of stage, with both fighters openly talking about the end of the road.
Before any of that, there is UFC 333. Volkanovski defends the featherweight title against Evloev on October 24, 2026, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Evloev is undefeated at 20-0, and the champion has acknowledged he is approaching the end of his career.
The Gaethje pitch changes nothing about that fight — it has to happen first. But it signals where Volkanovski's mind is. At 38, with one title already in hand and a second belt still out of reach, he is thinking about how to close the book.
A champion-versus-champion superfight has no date, no venue, and no formal offer. Gaethje's camp has not responded. The UFC has not commented. It exists, for now, as a podcast pitch from a champion who is running out of time and knows it.
Still, the pieces fit. Gaethje is 28-5-0 and holds the lightweight title. Volkanovski is the featherweight champion, one week out from his next defense. Both men have spoken about retirement in the same terms. Two titles, one fight, and two careers ending on the same night — that is the idea, stated plainly.
Whether it becomes a fight or stays a quote depends on what happens in Abu Dhabi on October 24.
