Greatness is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “the quality of being great”. It’s a simple phrase for such an intangible quality; something so many strive for.

We are burdened in the sports media industry by hyperbole. Every notable performance marks the emergence of the next “superstar”. We have “unbelievable” moments, “incredible” comebacks, and, of course, the “you couldn’t script it” line, which given the plethora of weird and wonderful scripted content available in our streamed universe is clearly a high watermark for hyperbole.

But ‘greatness’? That’s different. That is a word with weight to it. A word we maybe don’t take seriously enough in our age of reels, and TikTok, and takes. And yes, I’m fully aware of the irony of our platform making this point.

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The past 24 hours have given me cause for pause. A pause to consider the meaning of this word in a sporting context. So much of our sporting dialogue is now trying to pick the greatest, focusing on the adjective, when it’s the noun that actually matters. The sportspeople in question to provoke the question? Alexander Volkanovski and Novak Djokovic.

To recap, Volkanovski retained his UFC Featherweight crown at age 37 against Diego Lopes in Sydney on Sunday, recording a record-equaling eighth title defence. And then there’s Djokovic, who at age 38 competed in the Australian Open final just a few hours later. It was a match which followed his epic five-set semifinal win over reigning champion Jannik Sinner.

Volkanovski had nothing left to prove. He beat Lopes last year. His cooking socials now surpass his fighting ones. He is a cherished figure in the sport and could happily sail off into the sunset on his Illawarra property with absolutely nothing left to prove.

For Djokovic, the story is similar. The Grand Slam record of 24 titles is all his. He long ago left Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in his wake. And yet here he is going toe-to-toe with the next set of generational players despite his legacy already being secured.

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Volkanovski “rapt” with performance at UFC325

Alexander Volkanovski believes this win at UFC325 in front of his home crowd will rank highly when he looks back on his career.

But here’s the thing with a legacy. To quote Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton; “What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.”

Legacy is a future state. For both Volkanovski and Djokovic, legacy is not for today. Legacy can wait. This weekend, their respective challenges were about pushing themselves as far as they can possibly go. It was about redefining what they can do. About proving the doubters wrong. About achieving that intangible. Greatness.

In a world where we proclaim that we shouldn’t let “great be the enemy of good,” these two stand above the masses as the counter. Good is never good enough.

Volkanovski got his moment. An adoring crowd and an almost flawless display against an opponent who will never reach his heights.

For Djokovic, the challenge was stiffer, facing world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz who is already flirting with greatness himself. But no matter, Djokovic was ready to make people believe. To remind the world, what true greatness — even as 16 years his opponent’s senior — looks like.

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While on this night, on this court, it didn’t happen for him, the very act of Djokovic being there, still fighting for the trophy, still running down every point, still fighting for every shot sums up his greatness.

And Volkanovski, whose nearer 45 than 30 years of age, relentlessly training and suffering through another weight cut, and in the last 20 seconds of his fight standing over his bruised and battered opponent in the knowledge that victory was once again his. It makes every sacrifice worth it.

It’s these images that are the true definition of greatness, far beyond anything the denizens of the Oxford Dictionary could ever articulate.

And what of us? The media, the fans, the public. Those who pay, watch, click, swipe, cheer, boo. In a few days’ time the memories of this weekend will fade as we flood the zone with footy preseason. The flotsam and jetsam of our daily sporting diet. The latest NRL scandal or Kane Cornes take. The critique of Cam Green in the Australia team, or whether the Wallabies newest coach is any good. And all the while we had true greatness right under our nose.

They say greatness is fleeting. If only we could take a moment to truly appreciate it.