Before UFC 314, Alexander Volkanovski said he would be “taking out Movsar [Evloev] within three months,” if he won the featherweight belt in his title headliner in Miami. ‘Volk’, of course, did win a unanimous decision after battling the young and destructive Diego Lopes for five rounds. After the fight, during which he briefly went completely blind in one eye, ‘Volk’s comments did make it seem that three months might be a bit too soon for his return to the Octagon.
“Yeah, we’ll see. I have to look at a few things. I’m pretty sure there’s no broken bones, hopefully. If not, let’s get back in it. Heal up a little bit,” ‘The Great’ said about the three-month-timeline after the fight. And it seems that the new champ indeed has broken something and will not be ready to fight again in three months. This is based upon a report on X by Eurosport Spanish MMA analyst Alvaro Colmenero.
“Volkanovksi’s coach, Joe Lopez, told me in an interview (that I will post soon) that Alex hurt the thumb on his left hand during camp and it may now be broken after Lopes’ fight. He has to have an x-ray to confirm it. His return to the cage could be a little further away,” he wrote.
Volkanovksi’ coach, Joe Lopez, told me in an interview (that I will post soon) that Alex hurt the thumb on his left hand during camp and it may now be broken after Lopes’ fight. He has to have an x-ray to confirm it. His return to the cage could be a little further away. pic.twitter.com/FJOWwuO3xz
— Álvaro Colmenero (@KOlmeneroMMA) April 15, 2025
A broken thumb usually heals within four to six weeks, but the full recovery could take up to four months, according to ‘Cleveland Clinic’. So if ‘Volk’s thumb is indeed broken, he won’t be fighting at least until late 2025. That would actually be good for the Aussie great, given the type of punishment he took in the Lopes fight.
This isn’t the first time that ‘Volk’ had to contend with injuries. Last November, Coach Lopes said, “Alex went into his last three fights [compromised] – especially with the Yair [Rodriguez] fight. Alex couldn’t use his left arm for probably three-quarters of the camp because he had bits of broken bone in his elbow.”
However, the man from the land down under went out and slayed Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 and retained his 145lbs crown. But what followed wasn’t less than a horror tale. And maybe his elbow injury had a part to play in those fights as his coach mentioned. Moreover, the champ is 36, and coming off two knockout losses in the past two years. So a nice long break would help him recover completely before he puts his body through another training camp and faces another killer. And the question, of course, on everyone’s mind is who will Volkanovski fight next?
Could the UFC make an Evloev-Rodriguez interim title bout due to Alexander Volkanovski’s injury?
There are two people Alexander Volkanovski could fight next. Movsar Evloev or Yair Rodriguez. But with this long lay-off, is there a chance that the undefeated Russian and the Brazilian dynamo have an official #1 title contender bout to decide who gets to fight ‘Volk’ when he comes back? It would certainly make sense. Both men, after all, have a pretty good claim to a title shot. Evloev, of course, has an extremely high-level grappling game. Moreover, he is undefeated, ranked #4 in the division, and coming off a win over a former UFC champion.
Before UFC 314, there was no doubt the Russian phenom would fight the winner of Volkanovski-Lopes. In fact, both men said before the PPV that they wanted to fight him. The lone UFC loss on Lopes’ record came on debut, where he was bested by Evloev in their UFC 288 clash. So you could see why Evloev was seen as a prime contender for the next title shot.
But at UFC 314, Yair Rodriguez utterly dominated and outclassed Patricio Pitbull who is considered the greatest Bellator fighter ever. Moreover, he made a strong case to fight for the title again. What better way to see who really deserves to fight for the title than with a #1 contender bout? Or if ‘Volk’ has broken his thumb, an interim title clash? What do you think about the report that Alexander Volkanovski has broken his thumb?
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