{"id":41477,"date":"2026-02-05T08:46:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T13:46:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/former-ufc-champion-twice-brutally-kod-urges-alexander-volkanovski-to-hang-up-the-gloves\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T08:46:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T13:46:53","slug":"former-ufc-champion-twice-brutally-kod-urges-alexander-volkanovski-to-hang-up-the-gloves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/former-ufc-champion-twice-brutally-kod-urges-alexander-volkanovski-to-hang-up-the-gloves\/","title":{"rendered":"Former UFC Champion, Twice Brutally KO\u2019d, Urges Alexander Volkanovski to Hang Up the Gloves"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/former-ufc-champion-twice-brutally-kod-urges-alexander-volkanovski-to-hang-up-the-gloves\/#Frankie_Edgar_Urges_Volkanovski_to_Retire_After_UFC_325\" >Frankie Edgar Urges Volkanovski to Retire After UFC 325<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/05\/former-ufc-champion-twice-brutally-kod-urges-alexander-volkanovski-to-hang-up-the-gloves\/#Volkanovski_Clarifies_Retirement_Rumors_Plans_to_Keep_Fighting\" >Volkanovski Clarifies Retirement Rumors, Plans to Keep Fighting<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>A UFC Icon Wants Alexander Volkanovski to Retire<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At UFC 325 last Saturday, Alexander Volkanovski demonstrated he still has plenty left in the tank. Fighting in front of his home crowd in Sydney, the two-time featherweight champion once again defeated Diego Lopez, replicating the five-round victory that ended Lopez\u2019s title ambitions last April. The January 31st headliner showcased another stellar performance from the Australian favorite. However, UFC legend Frankie Edgar, despite remaining competitive at 37, believes it\u2019s time for Volkanovski to step away.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Frankie_Edgar_Urges_Volkanovski_to_Retire_After_UFC_325\"><\/span>Frankie Edgar Urges Volkanovski to Retire After UFC 325<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>As a former lightweight champ who retired after three back-to-back knockout losses, Edgar knows the dangers of pushing too far in MMA. Having been knocked out by Chris Gutierrez in November 2022 and losing six of his last eight bouts, he advises Volkanovski to seize the moment while still at the top.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want Volkanovski to say, \u2018I\u2019m out, I\u2019m leaving as champion,\u2019\u201d Edgar told MMA Junkie. \u201cWho else can do that now? Very few fighters manage to retire on top, and he\u2019s in that rare position.\u201d He conceded that Volkanovski\u2019s reluctance is understandable given he\u2019s still competing at the highest level and remains the best in the division.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Volkanovski_Clarifies_Retirement_Rumors_Plans_to_Keep_Fighting\"><\/span>Volkanovski Clarifies Retirement Rumors, Plans to Keep Fighting<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Despite Edgar\u2019s hopes, it appears Volkanovski isn\u2019t ready to retire. Ahead of UFC 325, the champ dismissed retirement chatter. Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Volkanovski said, \u201cI don\u2019t know where those rumors came from. If I suffered a brutal loss, I might consider retirement, but that\u2019s not in my plans.\u201d He revealed he\u2019s eager to get back in the cage, possibly against an undefeated contender, a matchup he finds enticing and a potential chance to end his career on a high note. For now, his focus is on recovering well from the latest fight and preparing for future challenges.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Fan Take:<\/strong> This exchange between a UFC legend and the current champ highlights the ongoing debate about the right time to retire in a grueling sport like MMA. For fans, Volkanovski\u2019s decision to continue competing means more thrilling fights ahead, while also reminding us how precious and fragile a champion\u2019s legacy truly is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A UFC Icon Wants Alexander Volkanovski to Retire At UFC 325 last Saturday, Alexander Volkanovski demonstrated he still has plenty left in the tank. Fighting in front of his home crowd in Sydney, the two-time featherweight champion once again defeated Diego Lopez, replicating the five-round victory that ended Lopez\u2019s title ambitions last April. The January [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2443],"tags":[2444],"class_list":{"0":"post-41477","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fighting","8":"tag-fighting"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}