Mike Bohn, MMA Junkie Wed, October 21, 2026 at 7:30 PM UTC · 3 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Laura Sanko thinks Alexander Volkanovski still has plenty left in the tank going into his UFC 333 title defense.
At 38, Volkanovski (28-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) enters Saturday's featherweight title headliner vs. Movsar Evloev (20-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC) at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi ( Paramount+ ) as the oldest champion in the company. That naturally generates speculation and narratives about how long he can keep excelling at the championship level.
Even Volkanovski himself has admitted that he would likely hang up the gloves if things go "horribly wrong" at UFC 333 . UFC analyst and commentator Sanko, however, thinks "The Great" will be able to continue defying conventional wisdom for at least one more fight, and further enhance his legacy with another victory.
"I think it's a difficult task for both guys, for completely different reasons," Sanko told MMA Junkie. "I'm siding with Volk on this one. To me, he's the greatest featherweight. I know there's a lot of – there's recency bias and there's a fondness bias. Where you're harkening back to MMA in a certain way and the height of your fandom. I think Jose Aldo will continue to be a lot of people's choices, and for the obvious reasons. But to me, Volk is the No. 1 featherweight of all time. And I don't think enough of Father Time has affected him yet to get him in this fight.
"Father Time comes for all of us. But I think this is a matchup where he has enough of a striking edge and enough of a defensive grappling ability and get-up ability where, unless Movsar can get him down and really just destroy the clock and keep Volk from being able to land enough damage when they do separate – I think just skill-wise Volk is the superior fighter in this matchup."
If Volkanovski is successful at UFC 333, he would break out of a tie with Jose Aldo and take sole possession of the record for most featherweight title fight wins in company history with nine. Evloev, meanwhile, looks to prevent that record and become the 18th fighter to join the exclusive club of undefeated UFC champions.
Sanko isn't counting out what Evloev brings to the table in terms of a threat, and expects a tactical battle between the two that likely goes down to the scorecards.
"I like this era of Movsar where he's talking a little bit more," Sanko said. "His last performance almost felt like a middle finger the people that were just so down on his style where he just sort of chose to strike with Lerone Murphy, which was equal parts risky and very impressive, what he was able to do out there. Then at the end goes, 'By the way, I'm also this ridiculously dominant wrestlers.' I hate making these picks where it's just the clip of me making the pick, but I am a big fan of Movsar and think he has an incredible skillset. I think my own personal odds are quite close."
To hear more from Sanko, check out her complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Laura Sanko: 'Superior' Alexander Volkanovski beats Movsar Evloev at UFC 333
Source: Sports
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