Athletes
Alexander Volkanovski And The Longest Divisional Winning Streaks In UFC History
“The Great” Can Inch Closer To Immortality With Another Defense Of His Featherweight Title At UFC 298: Volkanovski vs Topuria
Few fighters so seamlessly fall into a nickname more and more accurately over the course of a career. “The Notorious,” “Spider” and “The Last Stylebender” are a handful of recent examples that just make sense. While those are a little more synonymous with their individual owners, it’s hard to think of a better moniker for Alexander Volkanovski than “The Great.”
The Australian is making greatness a habit over the course of his seven-plus years in the Octagon, tallying six title fight wins, a tenure on top of the pound-for-pound list, as well as an 11-fight winning streak in the featherweight division.
Order UFC 298: Volkanovski vs Topuria Today!
Volkanovski nearly joined the vaunted double-champ club when he took Islam Makhachev to the brink at UFC 284 in 2023’s Fight of the Year. Although the former rugby player didn’t capture a second belt, he certainly earned a heap of respect before going back down to definitively defend his featherweight throne for a fifth time against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 to cap International Fight Week.
The 35-year-old future Hall of Fame member hasn’t found himself left wanting for contenders during his reign. His next opponent, Ilia Topuria, is an undefeated tank of a man with every bit of the confidence that accompanies a zero in the loss column. For Volkanovski, all of the challenger’s chatter is fuel to the fire as he continues to chase different accolades.
The win over Rodriguez was Volkanovski’s 11th win in a row at 145 pounds in the Octagon (he debuted as a lightweight and collected a catchweight win along the way), leaving him two shy of rival Max Holloway, whose streak he snapped himself when he took the belt off “Blessed” at UFC 245.
Volkanovski’s winning streak at featherweight leaves him just off the pace of a handful of legends.
Kamaru Usman holds the longest single division winning streak in UFC history with 15 victories in a row at 170 pounds. From there, Jon Jones (light heavyweight), Anderson Silva (middleweight), Max Holloway (featherweight) and Demetrious Johnson (flyweight) all sit tied at 13 each.
Just below them, Makhachev, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson each racked up 12 consecutive wins at 155 pounds. Makhachev could break that tie in his next title defense.
It's also worth noting former featherweight king José Aldo’s eight-year, 15-fight winning streak that spanned his time from WEC to the UFC.
Main Event Preview | UFC 298: Volkanovski vs Topuria
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Main Event Preview | UFC 298: Volkanovski vs Topuria
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Volkanovski has shown he isn’t someone who will get ahead of himself but instead stay on task, most recently in his win over Rodriguez when many believed he deserved an immediate rematch for the lightweight belt. Despite all that chatter, Volkanovski systematically dismantled Rodriguez to stretch his 145-pound winning streak to 11.
That’s all to say there’s plenty of greatness on the table left for Volkanovski. There are still records left to break and a legacy still in progress.
At UFC 298, there’s more on the line than just his belt, but what’s inarguable is that he is putting together one of the greatest Octagon careers we have ever seen, one that fight fans should savor and appreciate each time Men at Work’s “Down Under” blares over the speakers and Volkanovski makes the walk to the Octagon.
UFC 298: Volkanovski vs Topuria took place live from Honda Center in Anaheim, California on February 17, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
