Alexander Volkanovski‘s big win over Diego Lopes at UFC 314 put him back atop the featherweight division; however, according to the former pound-for-pound kingpin, his family hoped that after the win, he would leave his gloves in the center of the Octagon and ride off into the sunset.
The featherweight champ spoke about the situation during a recent video for Demetrious Johnson’s YouTube channel:
“Straight after the fight, my whole family was just like, ‘Why didn’t you just put the gloves down in the middle of the octagon straight away?’ They all wanted me to retire.
“They all wanted me to, but now that I’m making the decision to keep going, I’m not probably going to bring that back up purely because maybe they’re worried about affecting my frame of mind. Which I’m all right, they can say what they want, I’ll deal with that OK.”
You can see his comments in the video below beginning at the 15:39 mark.
While Alexander Volkanovski’s family wanted him to retire, the champ is eager to defend his title.
Following his win over Lopes, Volk indicated that he’d love to be the one to take Movsar Evloev’s undefeated record. Instead, the UFC booked Evloev a fight with Aaron Pico, with Dana White stating two weeks ago that with a win, Evloev will “likely” be next in line for a crack at the title.
Volk Dishes on Purchasing Massive 50-Acre Farm Prior to Lopes Fight
Heading into his fight with Diego Lopes, Alexander Volkanovski invested in a massive 50-acre farm for him and his family.
Fight fans may recall seeing Volk give Israel Adesanya a tour of the farm back in early June on his YouTube channel, however, while sitting down with Mighty Mouse, the champ dished on the property.
“It’s 50 acres, I’ve got main power, I’m off a natural spring, so I get my water from a natural spring which is cool. It’s sort of off-grid, [but] still close to everything.
“I feel like I’m in the middle of nowhere, you would think I’m in the middle of nowhere, but school’s 20 minutes away, the gym’s 25, the highway’s 10.”
You can see Volk give Israel Adesanya a tour of his farm in the video below beginning at the 9:08 mark.
Looking at the UFC’s PPV Schedule for the Remainder of the Year
Considering Dana White stated several weeks back that Movsar Evloev will likely be next in line for a crack at the title if he gets past Aaron Pico, for now, Volk is waiting in limbo to find out when he’ll defend his title.
Heading into the second half of summer, the UFC has yet to announce headlining fights UFC 320, UFC 321, UFC 322, and UFC 323.
With the Noché UFC card no longer set to be a pay-per view, the promotion will double up on pay-per view cards in October with the UFC 320 card in Vegas on Oct. 4, and the UFC 321 card in Abu Dhabi on Oct. 25.
The Octagon will then head to Madison Square Garden for the UFC 322 card in November, before then wrapping up the year with a pay-per view card in December.
Considering Volkanovski and his wife will be welcoming a baby in September, a title defense on the UFC 320 card at the beginning of October is likely out of the question; however, there’s still a chance that we see the champ defend his title in November at Madison Square Garden, or in December at T-Mobile Arena.
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