Alexander Volkanovski not worried about title ‘curse’ ahead of UFC 314

Alexander Volkanovski plans on defying the odds to become a two-time UFC Featherweight Champion.

Volkanovski will be fighting for the vacant 145-pound gold in the main event of UFC 314 on Saturday night. He’ll share the Octagon with Diego Lopes inside Kaseya Center in Miami. No former champion coming off back-to-back finishing losses has reclaimed UFC gold, not including the interim title.

Fans online also like to talk about the UFC title “curse” when fighters reach a certain age, but Volkanovski feels he won’t let anything stand in his way from becoming the featherweight king again.

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Alexander Volkanovski Fighting For Legacy

Speaking to reporters during a UFC 314 media day scrum, Alexander Volkanovski admitted he’s in unfamiliar territory. He knows how much a win would add to his already legendary career (via MMAJunkie).

“I’ve never been in this situation before,” Volkanovski said. “I’ve never come off such a big break. I’ve never come off two losses. So, it’s definitely the biggest fight of my career. Everyone’s gonna go, ‘Oh, yeah, you’ve done enough.’ But I haven’t. I can do a lot more and it starts this weekend. “It’s starts on Saturday with this new title reign. When you talk about legacy, it doesn’t get much bigger than this. The comeback is going to be real. This is sh*t people write books about and movies about.”

Volkanovski is coming off knockout losses to UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev and the soon-to-be former UFC featherweight titleholder Ilia Topuria. “The Great” has had some time to heal, and he’s hoping it will be enough to withstand the striking skills of Lopes on Saturday.

As it stands now, Volkanovski’s accolades are worthy of the UFC Hall of Fame. A second UFC title run late in his career may earn him a gold jacket even sooner.