Still Champ, Now Rainbet: Volkanovski Signs After UFC 333 Masterclass
What's left to say about Alexander Volkanovski? As far as UFC and MMA in general go, everyone should know everything about this fighter. At the end of the day, today, we can say that he's one of a kind. A unique champion. Volk is a two time featherweight champion, who didn't shy to test his skills in the lightweight division either. Yes, he lost in that division twice, but it's no shame to lose against one Islam Makhachev. As far as featherweight goes, he was only bested by Ilia Topuria.
Alexander The Great Volkanovski had an interesting career. One could say that it's only tainted by his desire not to back off of a challenge. But, is that something to be ashamed of? His rise through the featherweight division was astonishing. Yusuke Kasuya was the fighter that dropped first before The Great. Next came the likes of Mizuto Hirota, Shane Young, Jeremy Kennedy, Darren Elkins, Chad Mendes, and Jose Aldo before Volk was good enough to fight for the belt. What followed was the history of UFC getting rewritten.
Once on the biggest stage there was no turning back for Alexander Volkanovski. His first title was won against Max Holloway, and defended for the first time against the Blessed again. It was confirmed that Volk is at the featherweight division vs. Brian Ortega when he defended his title once more. Wins that followed against Chan Sung Jung and Max Holloway almost solidified Volk as one of the greatest fighters in the featherweight division of all time.
At that point, it was evident that he is more than able to dominate the featherweight division, and for Volk accepting a challenge to fight Islam at lightweight was the only way forward. Despite the loss, Volk was not one to back down. He came back to featherweight, defended the belt once more against Yair Rodriguez, and then on short notice returned to lightweight to fight Makhachev once more. Another loss, in a weight class that simply doesn't suit Volkanovski. His return to featherweight wasn't successful either, as he met the on the rise Ilia Topuria, and El Matador took out Volk via a knockout.
For many fighters this would be the end of the road as far as MMA and especially UFC go, but not for The Great. Volk returned once more to the division he called home. He won the belt back against Diego Lopes, defended it once more against Lopes again, only to eventually stand across the undefeated Movsar Evloev at UFC 333.
UFC 333: Volkanovski vs. Evloev
The fight at UFC 33 was the seventh successful title defence for Volk. It was his ninth title win. Right now, it's hard not to see him as the UFC featherweight GOAT. It only took two rounds for Volkanovski to take down Movsar Evloev, who was undefeated to that point. Etihad Arena was in awe of what Volk was still able to do to younger and on the rise fighters such as Evloev. Once he felt the weakness in the Russian's defence, he took him one, and once on the ground there was no running away from Evloev.
For Volk, it was not just another fight. It was his ninth title. As far as featherweight division goes, that's a new record, surpassing the one held by Jose Aldo with eight. Everyone believed that the reign of terrors imposed by Volk on the division was over when he was defeated by Topuria. Instead, what followed was a string of victories and a second title reign. Defeating Movsar at 38 years of age is nothing short of amazing and not many other fighters could pull this off.
Talking in the aftermath of the UFC 333 title fight, Volkanovski said: " He's a great fighter, and he was undefeated for a reason. I just said I'm the right guy for that job. I have nothing but respect for him. It feels good to get a finish. I'm so blessed. I'm very happy to be where I am and to be able to do what I'm doing in this sport and choose to do it. I don't have to. I said if I didn't take too much damage, we'd probably keep going. So maybe we'll keep going." For Evloev, this was his first title fight after 7 years with the company. For Volk, it was just another day in the office.
Yet, the first round was fairly evenly matched, if not won by Evloev. The Russian fighter had more significant strikes in the first round, and takedowns too. Volk did start strong, but after a while it appeared that Movsar has what it takes to take this bout all the way. The second round was the real mirror of what's about to happen. Volk kicked off the round with a low kick, clipping Evloev, and even sending him on the ground after the first significant exchange. He was dominant, and his aggressive approach to the game, and being able to escape Movsar's takedowns proved vital to his win.
As the second round was coming to a close, Evloev went on the defensive, allowing Volk to fully take over the fight. In the dying seconds of the second round Volkanovski was able to hit Evloev with an overhead right that took Movsar to the ground. There, the Russian had no defence for Volk's ground and pound attacks, and the referee had no other choice than to signal the end of the bout. The Russian fighter was in awe of Volk stating: "He's like good wine-older, stronger, better. He's a true legend, I'm grateful for this opportunity to be here. As I said, Alex is a great champion, and I'm glad to be here to share the cake with him. It's better to lose to a guy like him than to someone who isn't as good as him."
After this win it is clear that we will be seeing more of Volkanovski, but it remains to be seen at which weight, and how soon. In the meantime he's scoring wins both in the octagon and outside of it.
Volk & Rainbet: Win at The Right Moment
Alexander The Great Volkanovski simply can't stop winning. After he wrapped up Movsar Evloev at UFC 333, Volk became an ambassador for online crypto casino and sports betting outlet Rainbet. This online casino has been on the rise since its establishment in 2023, and is clearly one of the best options for sports betting, especially as far as UFC goes. They have an gambling operating license from Comoros and all of their games are built on provably fair platforms. In addition to sports betting this casino also has casino games, live dealer tables, and in-house games under its Rainbet Originals label. They are standing out with their catalogue of games, crypto payment availability, and unique set of games that are launched under the original name.
Rainbet has clear intention to dominate the field of online sports betting on MMA, as Alexander Volkanovski is only the latest UFC star to sign a deal with their brand. Before him this sports betting outlet signed Joshua Van and Sean Strickland. All three fighters have recorded promotional videos for the brand they now serve as ambassadors, and it is hard to tell which one is better. As far as the one that features Volk goes, it is an adrenaline filled action sequence focused on the Australian fighter, and his love for the outdoor activities.
The video starts with Volk rock climbing, and it slowly moves onto him sparring in the gym, to Volk jumping from an airplane with a parachute, and eventually landing onto the green field by the ocean, where his friend awaits him for a barbecue. In the video, Alexander Volkanovski sends a clear message to all his and Rainbet fans: "It has always been about one thing...and that's coming out on top. Because everywhere there is a challenge, there's risks. That's why I chose Rainbet." It is a certainty that in the future we will be seeing more of Volk and Rainbet cooperation. Their promo actions already promise a lot, and seeing Volk in a Rainbet T-shirt already feels natural. Considering that we have a lot of UFC and MMA events coming up, you can already log onto Rainbet and bet UFC Fights now. Just some of the upcoming events include UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Nolan, UFC 334 which will feature Ciryl Gane vs. Josh Hokit, Kayla Harrison vs. Amanda Nunes, Caio Borralho vs. Yousri Belgaroui, Uroš Medić vs. Kevin Holland (remember Medić fought in August in Belgrade, meaning that he's hungry to climb up the welterweight division ranks), and Bilal Hasan vs. Luis Gurule among few others.
It's no secret that in no time, we could see Volk fighting again. At the end of the day, he did say, if the bout at UFC 333 doesn't take too much tool on him, he will be continuing his adventure at UFC.
What's Next For Volk?
Luckily for all of us, it's not retirement. Volkanovski himself has said that he will fight again. At the end of the day this was to be expected. Volk is not one to back out of a challenge. Yet, a champion as himself cannot just fight anyone now. It needs to be a good fight, as we cannot be sure just how much The Great has left in the tank.
One of the first ideas, and a real possibility is to go against Charles Oliveira. The Brazilian fighter will be in the octagon to defend the BMF belt vs. Diego Lopes at UFC 335. If he wins that one, he becomes a sure fire favorite to face Volk. Both are legends of the game, and we are sure it would be a joy to watch them go against one another. Not only that it would be a fight for BMF, which is an honorary belt, but it would be one last attempt for Alexander to establish himself in lightweight and maybe make himself a contender.
Lightweight is the next step for Volk, despite the fact it would be a return to the division where he lost twice against Islam. He is a fighter who respects others and he stated that he wouldn't jump to the division to fight Justin Gaethje with the likes of Arman Tsarukyan waiting for that opportunity for so long. If he fights Oliveira, he would become one of the challengers at 155. The route to get there could also go through Arman if that's what Dana White and UFC higher ups decide.
Interestingly enough, he has enough challengers in featherweight too. Jean Silva already called him out, while Petr Yan is ready to step up a division to face Volk in an attempt to unite two titles. Knowing Volk, he is open to all of these suggestions. Talking about a fight between him and Gaethje: "A lot of times I’m like, ‘I don’t want to hold the divisions up’ but if I believe we can do this and not hold the divisions up, whether it’s both our retirement fights and put it all on the line, it’d be cool. A little bit of a superfight."
Another, less likely super fight, could be a duel between Volk and Conor McGregor. As far as reality goes, this is not one that's close to happening, but the Irishman has one fight left with UFC, and for Volk, in addition to winning against The Notorious it would probably be the biggest bag of his career. Yet, he's not one to chase a fight with former fighters for a big payday. Instead, in one of his most recent interviews, Volk gave fans something to think about. He wants to face Ilia Topuria again: "If it was going to be for a lightweight title, that'd be great, because I get that win back as well. Gaethje took that zero, so I can't say that I get the chance to take that zero from him. But to get that win back would be great."
