Dan Hardy believes we could see Alexander Volkanovski’s MMA swan song at UFC 325.
After handily beating Diego Lopes in April, the two will do it again this Saturday when the promotion returns to The Land Down Under for another night of fights.
Volkanovski, 37, will defend his featherweight title for the first time since regaining it against Lopes in April. But with “The Great” having few challengers and little left to prove, some are suggesting Volk may be willing to lay down his gloves – win or lose – in front of his hometown crowd.
“It would make sense, wouldn’t it?” Hardy said during an interview with Submission radio. “It would be the smart thing to do. From an outside perspective, it’s hard for someone on the outside to suggest what a fighter would want to do. Especially if he performs well, he could say, ‘Man, I’m still…’ And he also has that huge contract. The idea of him fighting Lerone Murphy is just a killer. It would be a great opportunity for Lerone to get the chance, but I love Volk. It’s time to let the young crowd take over. I think mainly because he has so many good opportunities has.
‘It’s different for fighters [Justin] Gaethje, I imagine he has other options outside of mixed martial arts, but he’s still all in. While Volk has so many other things he could do too. It might be easier for him to distance himself than it might be for other people. But I don’t know – the adrenaline rush and walking in Sydney and the reception he’ll get and the love all week – I don’t know, it’s hard to walk away from that no matter how hard you get kicked sometimes.
Volkanovski is 14-3 under the UFC banner, with his only losses during the decade-long streak coming against two-division champions Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria. Along the way he has scored victories over Brian Ortega, Max Holloway, ‘The Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung, Jose Aldo, Chad Mendes and Yair Rodriguez.
Will ‘The Great’ ride off into the sunset after his 18th walk to the Octagon at UFC 324, or will it be just another night at the office for the greatest featherweight in MMA history?
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