Frankie Edgar is impressed with how Alexander Volkanovski is “literally beating Father Time” at 37, but hopes the UFC featherweight champion is cautious about his future.
UFC Hall of Famer Edgar already thinks of Volkanovski (28-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) as having done the unthinkable. After consecutive knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria that had many writing him off, the Aussie came back and reclaimed the 145-pound title before defending it this past Saturday vs. Diego Lopes at UFC 325 in Sydney.
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Edgar tried to pull off a similar feat of winning a title fight after consecutive losses – albeit decisions and not knockouts – when he took on Jose Aldo at UFC 156 in February 2023. He couldn’t do it.
“I was kinda trying it myself,” Edgar told MMA Junkie. “The fact that he got it done makes it cool to say it can happen. That’s for all these fighters out there. You see a guy get it done once and you’re like, ‘All right, that’s attainable.’ He’s definitely motivating a lot of people out there.”
How far can Volkanovski push the envelope, though? Edgar said he would rather not find out. He understands the next few fights might represent the most significant earning potential of Volkanovski’s career, but it comes at the risk of not only his health, but potentially his legacy, too.
“To be honest, I would love for Volkanovski to say, ‘I’m out, I’m leaving as the champion,'” Edgar said. “Because who gets to do that nowadays? Nobody. Not many people get their flowers in this sport, unfortunately, and he’s in a position where he can. I totally get why he doesn’t want to because he’s still competing and the best in the world.”
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Edgar never got the opportunity to share the octagon with Volkanovski, but he did face many of the elite fighters in his era at 145 pounds, fighting for the belt twice against Aldo and once against Max Holloway.
Volkanovski is a combined 4-0 against Aldo and Holloway during his career, but those are names that will come up in the debate for the greatest featherweight in UFC history. For Edgar, it’s an impossible gauge to measure.
“It’s so tough to pick the GOATs of these weight classes,” Edgar said. “I think in my era, it was Aldo without a doubt. Hands down. Then the next era, it’s without a doubt Alex. That’s what you’ve got to do. Even though they fought each other, they fought each other when they were at totally different stages of their career, so it’s kind of hard to even compare these two.”
If Volkanovski doesn’t retire, as it appears he won’t, then Edgar does see a chance for “The Great” to further enhance his legacy. All signs point to March’s UFC Fight Night 270 main event between unbeaten contenders Movsar Evloev and Lerone Murphy being next, and Edgar sees that as a huge potential scalp for Volkanovski’s resume.
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“I think it will because he’s a little bit long in the tooth now, and if he goes against these younger guys, he starts bridging into the next generation,” Edgar said. “I think it just shows how much of a force he was if he’s able to do that.”
To hear more from Edgar, check out his complete appearance on “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC legend Frankie Edgar wants Alexander Volkanovski to retire
