Retirement nor fighting at 40 scare Volkanovski

Retirement, for all professional athletes no matter their craft, is inevitable. But as the next phase of Alexander Volkanovski's life peeks up from beyond the horizon, the UFC featherweight champion says he will deliver a performance at UFC 333 that leaves MMA fans in awe. "You guys will come out of this being like that's one of Volk's best performances. That's the best way for me to put it," Volkanovski told ESPN after wrapping up a session at the new home of Freestyle MMA. The gym, which is around 10 times the size of coach Joe Lopez's former premises, is a symbol of the duo's amazing journey from relative MMA obscurity to, at one point, the top of the UFC pound-for-pound rankings. Volkanovski now sits at No. 7 on ESPN's pound-for-pound chart as he prepares to face undefeated Russian fighter Movsar Evloev, a bout that will be Volanovski's 33rd professional fight, 12th UFC title fight and 19th in the promotion overall. "Wow, there you go. It's crazy," Volkanovski said when those numbers were put to him. "It's crazy because even though I know I'm world champion -- or two-time world champion -- I know I was pound-for-pound No. 1, I know I've broken records, but it's weird, it doesn't feel like I've done that much in the UFC. It's hard to explain. It's like, at the end of the day, I do know that I've done it, but I don't live my life thinking I've done that. Does that make sense? It's not even close to a thought of mine. "I guess it's just because I'm always myself and I just forget about the fighting thing. And I come into the gym and then I've got a job to do and that's that. But then I go back home and then I sort of forget about it all. I don't know why it is that way." It's that mentality that has endeared Volkanovski to not just Australia, but to fight fans the world over. Just a few weeks on from his 38th birthday, the two-time UFC champion remains as popular as ever. But having completed another lap around the sun, the questions about his ability to continue compete in arguably the most brutal sport on the earth grow louder than ever. They just seem to wash right over Volkanovski, however. "A lot of people will be like, 'F--- this, I'm over this, man. I've had enough.' But I'm still driven," Volkanovski said. "I feel like because I'm driven for these other little things -- other paths to success that still excite me because, I guess, they're different challenges. I'm always trying to challenge myself ... I love the fact that I'm 38 years old. I love the fact that he's [Evloev] undefeated. You name it. I love all these things." Life outside the Octagon is also vastly different from when Volkanovski first stepped inside the cage. Now a global sporting star, he has a hugely successful YouTube channel, which includes his "Cooking with Volk" series. He has his own clothing label, and just before flying out to Abu Dhabi for UFC 333, he attended the premiere of the new "Street Fighter" film, in which he plays the role of Joe. Add to that a small hobby farm that keeps him busy -- he told ESPN that water issues have been plaguing his small cattle herd -- and four young daughters who keep him and wife, Emma, running in all directions. Retirement no longer scares him. But that doesn't mean he's ready to roll over and accept that his UFC career is done. Volkanovski truly believes he is fighting as well as ever and is fully prepared for whatever Evloev throws at him. "To fight an undefeated guy, 20-0, never lost in the UFC ... it's cool for [my] legacy. I love it," Volkanovski said. "I'm going to show him that you know how to win against them other guys, just not me. And that's what I can't wait to go out there and prove. ... A lot of people are like, 'Oh, you know, he's a wrestler' ... but you're not just going to be able to lay on me or hold me down. So that's why now the old dog gets to take out this young guy. You're not hearing people really complain about it. People are excited for this fight, which is pretty cool. I don't need to try and sell it." With a win in Abu Dhabi, Volkanovski would move to nine featherweight title wins, one clear of José Aldo, though he will have only tied the Brazilian for successful title defences with eight. There is enough fresh blood at the top of the division to keep Volkanovski busy into 2027, though he has also suggested the idea of a "superfight" for the lightweight title with Justin Gaethje, saying: "Gaethje, Volk. I think he's said that he maybe has one more. That could be a superfight. Let's do a superfight with the lightweight title on the line. We can both see everyone off with a crazy superfight. That could be really good." However, there is potentially a world in which Volkanovski continues to thwart the best the featherweight division has to offer. And taking on a title fight beyond his 40th birthday, while unlikely, isn't totally out of the question. "I can guarantee it won't be 40," Volkanovski said. "I mean, I say that now. It's like, '40, what?' And it's like, 'Mate, it's only two years away.' "If you ask me that question differently, I'd be like, 'Could you see yourself in two years where I'm like, yeah, yeah, for sure.' But when you say 40, I'm like, 'Nah, I'm not doing 40.' But then here I am at 38. That's two years away. So it could definitely happen, right? But I mean, at the end of the day, none of that will matter. It's going to be how I'm handling things, what damage am I taking?" What Volkanovski is certain of is that he will deliver a performance against Evloev to rival any from his esteemed UFC career, one that leaves the MMA world in no doubt as to whether he still has what it takes to fight on -- whether he chooses to or not. "I've said this quite a few times now, that this may be a fight where all you guys are going to be saying that this is probably the best Volk we've ever seen," he told ESPN. "Do I still believe I'm better than all of them? 100%. But not just that, the fight that this fight's going to bring, and the fight that I'm going to bring, stylistically, you guys will come out of this [saying] that's one of Volk's best performances. "How, at 38, is Alex pulling off his best f---ing performance? I believe that's what you are going to be saying after this."