- The story is against Alex Volkanovski in the UFC 298 title fight
- Fighters 35 years old or older below middleweight rarely win titles
- The Australian has been known to make jokes about his age before the fight.
Featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski is preparing to break a notorious UFC curse that has ruined the careers of many UFC veterans when he faces Ilia Topuria this weekend.
Volkanovski will defend his title against the undefeated contender in the main event of UFC 298, which will take place in Anaheim, California.
The 35-year-old Australian, who has held the UFC featherweight title since 2019 when he defeated Max Holloway, is undefeated at 145 pounds and has defended the title five times during his dominant reign.
However, Volkanovski now faces a new opponent, Father Time.
UFC fighters 35 and older, in men’s divisions below middleweight, have a record of winning only two of 33 fights.
Alex Volkanovski is preparing to break the notorious ‘over 35 curse’ at UFC 298
Undefeated contender Ilia Topuria mocked the Australian’s age ahead of the title fight.
The only fighter who has challenged this curse has been Tyron Woodley, in his title fights against Demian Maia and Darren Till.
In recent years, fans have seen veterans like Henry Cejudo, Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal get defeated by younger opponents in title fights.
‘The Great’ has heard that his best days could be behind him and has decided to rely on the curse of those over 35.
Volkanovski recently teamed up with Sportsbet to produce a funny video poking fun at his age.
“Volkanovski is too old; headlines make headlines about anything these days,” he says in the video, dressed as a much older man.
‘All this talk about the curse of those over 35 is nonsense. So I let the Sportsbet team in to prove that I’m as young as these whippersnappers.
The champion fulfills all the clichés, including falling asleep on the couch and talking to his neighbor over the back fence.
Topuria recognizes Volkanovski’s talent, but believes his time at the top is over and has called him “old man” several times in the lead-up to the championship fight.
Volkanovski responded to ‘too old’ comments with hilarious video
The champion predicts that he will finish off his daring opponent in a couple of rounds.
‘I’m the best. He is one of the best. You have to give him credit. He was a great champion, he was No. 1 pound for pound. He was one of the greatest, without a doubt,’ he said.
‘He sold. He already lost. He has all the signs that he has to retire. He had his moments in this sport and now he has to move on.
‘It’s time for new blood and I represent the new generation. I represent the evolution of mixed martial arts.’
Volkanovski predicts that he will make his bold young opponent eat his words.
“The prediction is that I will teach him a good lesson,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel.
“He’ll embarrass himself, eat some of his words, and maybe it’ll be the beginning of his journey.” He is young, he is confident, I will humiliate him, he will recover and start after I give him a good beating. I think the second round. I think I broke it on the first one.
“I’m not saying it’s going to be an easy fight, but I think he hasn’t been able to show the confidence he has.” I prove it every time I enter this gym.
‘I push myself to the limit. I don’t know if she does. He doesn’t act like that, so I’ll push him, and I think I’ll crumble him inside one and get the ending shortly after that.’