‘The Great’ received support from a fellow TKO superstar as he produced another incredible accomplishment in his legendary career.
Alexander Volkanovski successfully reclaimed the featherweight title by beating Diego Lopes via a unanimous decision in Miami.
Despite coming into the fight off the back of consecutive knockout losses, the Aussie showed that he is still one of the best in the world at 145-pounds.
Volkanovski already has eyes on his next opponent and a desired date as he looks to return to being one of the most active champions in the sport.
Whilst his opponent is also a huge fan favorite, with Lopes reflecting on the loss in a post-fight statement, the two-time champion got an incredible reception at the Kaseya Center on April 12.
Video shows Rhea Ripley’s incredibly passionate reaction to Alexander Volkanovski’s historic win
The UFC has a strong track record in recent times when it comes to producing stacked card and iconic moments when the Octagon arrives in Miami, making the Kaseya Center the place to be on April 12.
Before he made the walk this past Saturday night, Alexander Volkanovski shared a warm interaction with a fellow Aussie who had come to support him.
The UFC 314 broadcast showed a whole list of notable names who were in attendance for the biggest card of the year so far with WWE’s Rhea Ripley receiving a pop from the crowd.
Ripley, who is set to compete for the Women’s World Championship on night two of WrestleMania 41 this upcoming weekend in Las Vegas, took in the action alongside her husband, AEW’s Buddy Murphy.
The WWE star sported a Volkanovski shirt as she watched ‘The Great’ put on a fight of the night bout with the surging Diego Lopes.
Volkanovski emerged victorious on the scorecards after defying several statistics that suggested how difficult it would be for the 36-year-old to climb back to the top.
Ripley later shared a video, originally posted by jzosports, on her Instagram story which captured her passionate reaction to the scorecards being announced following the conclusion of the main event, writing, “Can you tell we were hyped?”
Alexander Volkanovski broke the 35 or older curse at UFC 314
In recent years, fight fans have become well aware of the 35 or older curse that hangs over all of the weight divisions below welterweight where no fighters past this mark have faired well in title fights.
Alexander Volkanovski proved that records are meant to be broken by becoming the featherweight champion for a second time at the age of 36.
He also did it whilst coming off of consecutive knockout losses which led to some questioning whether he would ever compete at the highest level again, making his return to the top even more impressive.
The special career of Volkanovski continues on and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down just yet after weathering some tough storms in recent times.
Simply put, he reminded everyone why his nickname of ‘The Great’ is so fitting.
