{"id":874592,"date":"2026-08-31T04:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T04:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/874592\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T04:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T04:12:12","slug":"mma-news-alex-volkanovski-vows-perfect-fight-vs-movsar-evloev-ufc-333-interview-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/874592\/","title":{"rendered":"MMA News: Alex Volkanovski vows perfect fight vs Movsar Evloev, UFC 333, interview video"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Alex Volkanovski knows he is no longer in his physical prime.<\/p>\n<p>But the Aussie UFC superstar believes his next performance could have everyone wondering whether he is.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1788149532_13_poster-fallback.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>UFC 331: Van v Pantoja 2 | SUN 20 SEPTEMBER 11AM AEST | The UFC returns to Los Angeles for a blockbuster title showdown, as Joshua Van defends his crown against former champion Alexandre Pantoja in a rematch for the ages. | <a href=\"https:\/\/kayosports.com.au\/en-AU\/welcome\/ppv\/ufc-331?extcamp=fsaeditoriallinkmma-edt-fsp-lnk-awr-grc-mma-kyo&amp;channel=fsa&amp;campaign=fsacontra\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Volkanovski will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/ufc\/ufc-330-alexander-volkanovski-to-fight-russian-movsar-evloev-at-ufc-333-what-day-will-he-fight-details-venue-reaction\/news-story\/d162a888d8dede17fe5959f0fb93f804\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">defend his featherweight crown against undefeated Russian Movsar Evloev<\/a> in the main event of UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on October 25 AEDT, in what shapes as another enormous test of just how long the soon to be 38-year-old can continue operating at the top of the sport.<\/p>\n<p>And despite the inevitable questions surrounding his age, Volk is predicting the type of performance that could make them disappear \u2013 at least for a while.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI believe I get to go out there at 38 years old and fight a perfect fight, where people are going to think, \u2018What?! This guy\u2019s still got another 10 years left in him!\u2019\u201d Volkanovski told Main Event.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich probably isn\u2019t the case, but I honestly think that\u2019s going to be the conversation after I get the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alex Volkanovski and Movsar EvloevSource: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n<p>Volk is already considered by many to be the greatest featherweight in UFC history and is now attempting to add another chapter to an incredible second reign as champ.<\/p>\n<p>Evloev is unbeaten in 20 pro fights and has built his rise through the featherweight division largely on the back of his wrestling and an ability to control opponents.<\/p>\n<p>Volk, though, believes that game plan won\u2019t work against him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to fight the best,\u201d Volkanovski said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t come to me with your half-ass, \u2018I don\u2019t want to wrestle because I want to entertain.\u2019 No. That ain\u2019t happening.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to fight the best. I\u2019ve always wanted to fight the best. I wanted the biggest challenge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, stylistically, I think it\u2019s a great fight for me, and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the craziest challenge for me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he\u2019s the best guy, who deserves it, and I\u2019m the champ that fights the best guys.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Volk believes Evloev\u2019s greatest strength could eventually become a problem against him.<\/p>\n<p>He expects the Russian to hunt takedowns early, but is backing his own defensive wrestling to shut those attempts down.<\/p>\n<p>And according to Volk, it could reach a point where Evloev\u2019s best chance of winning is abandoning the wrestling altogether and trying to knock him out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe doesn\u2019t have the knockout power threat,\u201d Volkanovski said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut, in saying that, because I\u2019m so confident in my takedown defence, in my game, that his best bet is to knock me out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of people are like, \u2018He\u2019s going to just try and wrestle.\u2019 That\u2019s gonna be thrown out the window after one or two rounds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s gonna be getting too tired to want to keep trying to take me down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo literally, I believe he\u2019d be better off just swinging and trying to catch me. Honestly, that\u2019s what I truly believe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one in my division can beat me in a decision. And I know that seems to be the only way he wins, but against me that ain\u2019t happening. I truly do believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Volk previews upcoming Movsar clash | 13:41<\/p>\n<p>Volk went even further when breaking down exactly how he expects the fight to unfold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s pretty obvious what I\u2019ll do to Movsar,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMovsar\u2019s gonna want to shoot. He knows how to win, he knows how to get the fight where he wants it, but that just ain\u2019t gonna happen with me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMovsar will look for the takedown. It ain\u2019t gonna work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if he does get my back to the mat, I\u2019m bouncing straight back up. I\u2019m breaking free, I\u2019m in his face, and I\u2019m gonna be putting hands on him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI truly do believe I\u2019m going to put it on Movsar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course, not everyone is convinced. <\/p>\n<p>Volk\u2019s age has become an increasingly big part of the conversation surrounding the final years of his career.<\/p>\n<p>And even former rival <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/ufc\/mma-2026-islam-makhachev-tips-alexander-volkanovski-to-lose-title-to-movsar-evloev-ufc-333\/news-story\/cc2fae7fdbc12caeafca28aad8950040\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Islam Makhachev believes it will count against him<\/a> at UFC 333. <\/p>\n<p>The UFC welterweight champ, who shared the Octagon with Volk twice, recently tipped Evloev to dethrone the Aussie, arguing the undefeated Russian\u2019s youth will prove decisive.<\/p>\n<p>Volk &amp; Ruffy preview Tsarukyan fight | 07:24<\/p>\n<p>Volk\u2019s camp sees things a little differently.<\/p>\n<p>Coach Joe Lopez recently told Fox Sports Australia that<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxsports.com.au\/ufc\/ufc-333-alexander-volkanovskis-coach-joe-lopez-breaks-down-movsar-evloev-fight-preview-odds-latest-news\/news-story\/df177c379d4951c903753a9596e2aea0\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"> Evloev is actually an \u201cideal match-up\u201d<\/a> for the Australian, backing the Windang legend\u2019s defensive grappling to squash the Russian\u2019s biggest weapon.<\/p>\n<p>And judging by Volk\u2019s own prediction for UFC 333, fighter and coach are very much on the same page.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou will definitely be saying, \u2018This, honestly, looks like Volk in his prime,\u2019\u201d Volkanovski said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI honestly believe headlines are going to be &#8212; that narrative after this fight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs it because I\u2019m in my prime? No. It\u2019s because that\u2019s the fight; that\u2019s how that fight is going to play out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that this is the perfect matchup for me, where I get to go out there and shine, probably greater than I\u2019ve shined in there.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis could be one of my great performances &#8212; at 38 years old.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich is pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alex Volkanovski knows he is no longer in his physical prime. But the Aussie UFC superstar believes his&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":874593,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[64,63,786,785,85],"class_list":["post-874592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=874592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/874593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=874592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=874592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=874592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}