‘What’s going on?‘: Volk ‘putting pressure’ on UFC bosses

Alexander Volkanovski is “putting pressure” on UFC officials to book his next title defence sooner rather than later, months after defending the gold on home soil.

The 37-year-old hasn’t fought since his unanimous decision win over Diego Lopes in February - the second time he had defeated the Brazilian.

Volkanovski, who is in his second reign as featherweight champion, made it clear after the Lopes bout that he wanted to stay as active as possible in 2026.

But with a stacked schedule that includes the UFC’s White House event next week, as well as the return of Conor McGregor next month, the popular Aussie has been placed on the back-burner and still doesn’t have his next bout locked in.

Speaking to nine.com.au at Sportsbet’s FIFA World Cup launch event last week, Volkanovski said he was pushing to get his return finalised soon.

“There’s no confirmation yet and we’ve been trying to get something locked in, but it’s probably looking like September,” he said.

“We are onto them saying like ‘all right, what’s going on, we want to get back in there’ so we’re definitely putting a bit of pressure on them.

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“They’ve obviously got so many things happening with the White House and Conor’s return, plus so many other champions that need to fight as well.

“There’s a lot happening, but hopefully we’ll get confirmation soon.”

Volkanovski (28-4) also confirmed it would be the undefeated Movsar Evloev who gets the next crack at the featherweight belt.

“He’s the deserving No.1 contender in the division and that’s the type of champion I want to be. I want to reward that,” the Aussie said.

Many have been questioning how much time Volkanovski has left in the octagon, with the popular Windang product set to turn 38 this year.

It’s rare that UFC fighters continue to compete at championship level into their late-30s and Volkanovski is certainly defying history in his current run.

Volkanovski admitted that getting to compete in front of his friends and family in Sydney lit a fire under him, especially given the uncertainty of the sport.

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But when the topic of retirement was floated, Volkanovski made it clear he has no plans to wind things down, especially if he remains in the winner’s circle.

“If I’m going out there and feeling how I did in Sydney, doing that and taking as little damage as possible, I’ll just keep it rolling,” he said.

“Being able to get everyone there - almost everyone I knew was there - it didn’t look like we might have that chance and be able to tick off that goal. To actually defend a belt on home soil and get the win was pretty special for me.

“So now I’m like, If I’m 40 years old and we’re still doing that, why not keep going?

“I never thought I’d be fighting this long, but if I can get through camps and cater for the age I’m at - get the intensity up there but maybe pull back the volume - we can go that little bit longer. Being able to do that has made me open my eyes.

“If we can keep doing this, let’s do it.”

Volkanovski, an avid sports fan, appeared at the World Cup event alongside Socceroos greats John Aloisi and Mark Schwarzer at Sydney’s Cockatoo Island last week to hype up the World Cup tournament, which kicks off on Friday (AEST).

The combat sports icon said it never gets old meeting legends from other codes, as he etches his own name into Aussie sporting folklore.

“It’s always a pretty incredible thing and the World Cup is such a big deal, so to rub shoulders with people like John and Mark was really cool,” he said.

Volkanovski will be over in the United States while the World Cup is happening as part of his UFC commitments for the White House event on June 15 (AEST).