From breaking curses to setting records straight, Alexander Volkanovski ensured that his performance lacked absolutely nothing as he took on Diego Lopes at UFC 314. The Australian had multiple curses, including the Drake curse, the curse of over the age of 35 featherweight, etc., working against him. On top of that, he was fresh off back-to-back knockout defeats. Most of the fighting community believed that Volkanovski was going to lose. But ‘The Great’ didn’t back down and won the featherweight championship belt for the second time. However, that wasn’t his only achievement.
Of course, becoming the first-ever featherweight fighter above the age of 35 to win the belt was an astounding feat in itself. Moreover, the fact that he became the second fighter to become the featherweight champion twice, landing in a tie with Jose Aldo, added the cherry on top. But there’s yet another achievement that Volkanovski landed. And that was enough to put fighters like Islam Makhachev and Jon Jones on alert.
Needless to say, we’re talking about the pound-for-pound rankings. Makhachev is currently ruling the list, closely followed by the heavyweight champion in the second spot. But there was a time when Volkanovski was on top of the list. Unfortunately, his previous defeats got him down to the 11th spot. But that was all in the past. After UFC 314, ‘The Great’ found his momentum back and climbed to the 9th spot. John Morgan shared the news with the MMA community and wrote, “Champion once again, [Alexander Volkanovski] also gets a boost in the latest official pound-for-pound rankings update after #UFC314, rising two spots to the No. 9 position.” Are you wondering who lost their spot to make way for the Australian champion? Well, Alexandre Pantoja and Tom Aspinall, went down one spot each, landing in the 10th and 11th position, respectively.
Champion once again, @alexvolkanovski also gets a boost in the latest official pound-for-pound rankings update after #UFC314, rising two spots to the No. 9 position.
Volkanovski pushes past Alexandre Pantoja and Tom Aspinall in his move. pic.twitter.com/I3EaEu6HZu
— John Morgan (@JohnMorgan_MMA) April 15, 2025
But how exactly did Alexander Volkanovski achieve such a feat? How did he manage to break through so many curses pulling him down? Well, the 2-time featherweight champion didn’t really look at his problems as some nerfing agents. Instead, he used them to rise higher. Let’s see what he said about it.
Alexander Volkanovski impresses Tom Aspinall with his post-fight speech
Right after the main event at UFC 314, the fighting community stood back in awe as Volkanovski conversed with Joe Rogan. He declared that his adversities became his privilege, and that was why he was able to win. No doubt, these words resonated pretty well with Aspinall.
During a segment for Eurosport, the interim heavyweight champion said, “I’m happy to see Volkanovski get another shot. I think it’s gonna be a good fight. I think that it’s gonna be Volkanovski’s last crack at getting a title shot and getting a title again. But it’s interesting to see where Volkanovski’s at because that guy can seriously get down in there and get after it. And from what I’ve seen, I think it’s a good scrappy featherweight fight and I’m looking forward to it.”
Of course, Aspinall wasn’t the only one who stood up and cheered for the featherweight champion. Islam Makhachev also chimed in with a message to congratulate his former opponent and good friend. Now, we need to get ready to witness Volkanovski’s next title defense. And until then, we shall let him enjoy his victory with his wife and daughters.
What are your thoughts on Volkanovski’s victory at UFC 314? Did you predict that he would also go up in the pound-for-pound rankings if he won? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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