5 reasons why Alexander Volkanovski is the UFC's featherweight GOAT

#2. Alexander Volkanovski has never been beaten at featherweight

At 145lbs, Alexander Volkanovski remains unbeaten

Unlike in the world of boxing, nobody really frowns upon an MMA fighter who has a number of losses on their record. Anderson Silva, for instance, is widely recognized as one of the sport’s all-time greats,and yet he fell to defeat on no fewer than 11 times during his lengthy career.

However, a fighter with few losses on their ledger is obviously going to be considered closer to GOAT status than one with more defeats, hence why the likes of Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre are so highly regarded.

In the case of Alexander Volkanovski, then, if we go by losses – or lack thereof – it’s hard to dispute the idea that he should be considered the UFC’s featherweight GOAT.

The Aussie has never been beaten at 145 pounds, despite facing the highest-level opponents possible for the past four years. The only loss of his career came when he was fighting at 170 pounds. Due to that, it’s probably fair to simply overlook it.

Even Max Holloway suffered losses on his way up the ladder at featherweight, with the largely unheralded Dennis Bermudez being responsible for one of those defeats in 2013. Jose Aldo, meanwhile, has suffered a number of defeats since being dethroned by Conor McGregor in 2015.

Will Volkanovski eventually lose in the octagon? In all honesty, it’s inevitable, but judging by his current form, by the time that happens, he could be ready to hang up his gloves anyway.

Essentially, a fighter who avoids defeats as much as he does deserves to be recognized as the GOAT in his weight class.

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#1. Alexander Volkanovski has already beaten the other potential GOATs at featherweight

Alexander Volkanovski holds a win over another potential featherweight GOAT in Jose Aldo

As the old saying goes, “to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.” In many instances, the same saying works when it comes to becoming the GOAT in one of the UFC’s weight divisions.

Matt Hughes, for example, was widely considered the greatest welterweight of all time before Georges St-Pierre dethroned him in 2006 and went onto firmly usurp that position.

In turn, the fact that GSP then stepped away before someone did the same to him is probably the main reason why many fans never expect Kamaru Usman to surpass his legacy.

Of course, beating a consensus GOAT doesn’t always allow a fighter to take that spot – it’s about what happens next. Chris Weidman famously dethroned middleweight GOAT Anderson Silva, but never took that spot because he quickly fell in turn to Luke Rockhold.

What does this mean for Alexander Volkanovski? Well, he’s got wins over the other two potential GOATs at featherweight in the form of Jose Aldo and Max Holloway. Of course, that goes heavily in his favor.

However, the fact that he actually holds two wins over Holloway and has also beaten two other generational talents in Chad Mendes and Brian Ortega means that it’s even harder to deny his position.

Fans could argue for Aldo, Holloway or Volkanovski when it comes to the position of the UFC’s featherweight GOAT, but only one possesses wins over both of the others and that’s Alexander 'The Great’ Volkanovski.