{"id":6625,"date":"2026-02-03T01:31:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T00:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/?p=6625"},"modified":"2026-02-03T16:14:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T15:14:00","slug":"daniel-cormier-why-alexander-volkanovski-is-the-greatest-featherweight-of-all-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/daniel-cormier-why-alexander-volkanovski-is-the-greatest-featherweight-of-all-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Daniel Cormier: Why Alexander Volkanovski is the greatest featherweight of all time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2711\" data-end=\"3023\">Following UFC 325, the discussion surrounding the greatest featherweight in MMA history has taken on new clarity. For Daniel Cormier \u2014 former UFC double champion and now one of the sport\u2019s most respected analysts \u2014 Alexander Volkanovski has moved beyond dominance. He has entered the realm of all-time greatness.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3025\" data-end=\"3378\">At home in Sydney, Volkanovski secured his eighth successful title defense with a unanimous decision victory over Diego Lopes. While the win itself was significant, it was the champion\u2019s mindset that stood out most to Cormier. In a division where contenders are often avoided based on style or risk, Volkanovski continues to operate without calculation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3380\" data-end=\"3642\">\u201cNobody wants to fight Movsar Evloev. Nobody wants to fight Lerone Murphy. Volk simply says: if they\u2019re next, then they\u2019re next,\u201d Cormier explained. For him, this willingness to face the most dangerous challengers defines what separates a champion from a legend.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"und\" dir=\"ltr\">Daniel Cormier: Why Alexander Volkanovski is the greatest featherweight of all time<\/p>\n<p>\u0623\u0644\u0643\u0633\u0646\u062f\u0631 \u0641\u0648\u0644\u0643\u0627\u0646\u0648\u0641\u0633\u0643\u064a\u2026 \u0623\u0639\u0638\u0645 \u0648\u0632\u0646 \u0631\u064a\u0634 \u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u062a\u0627\u0631\u064a\u062e \u0643\u0645\u0627 \u064a\u0631\u0627\u0647 \u062f\u0627\u0646\u064a\u0627\u0644 \u0643\u0648\u0631\u0645\u064a\u064a\u0647<\/p>\n<p>Alexander Volkanovski, le poids plume de r\u00e9f\u00e9rence selon Daniel Cormier<\/p>\n<p>(Via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dc_mma?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@dc_mma<\/a> ) <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VVEo1D4n08\">pic.twitter.com\/VVEo1D4n08<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; mmamag.ma (@jamalsoussi10) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jamalsoussi10\/status\/2018700742417146102?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3644\" data-end=\"4100\">The numbers reinforce that argument. With eight successful title defenses, Volkanovski has now matched Jos\u00e9 Aldo\u2019s long-standing record in the featherweight division. More importantly, four of those victories came against Max Holloway and Aldo themselves \u2014 two fighters widely regarded as the greatest featherweights of previous eras. This isn\u2019t dominance built in a weakened division, but supremacy established against elite opposition across generations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4102\" data-end=\"4392\">The physical toll of Volkanovski\u2019s reign was evident in his latest outing. Diego Lopes, pushed to the limit over five intense rounds, was hospitalized after the fight due to serious injuries. A stark reminder of the level of pressure and damage associated with facing the reigning champion.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4394\" data-end=\"4722\">Cormier\u2019s assessment ultimately raises a deeper question: is greatness defined solely by records, or by a champion\u2019s readiness to embrace the hardest challenges available? In that respect, Alexander Volkanovski appears to have set a new benchmark \u2014 not just for his era, but for the entire history of the featherweight division.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following UFC 325, the discussion surrounding the greatest featherweight in MMA history has taken on new clarity. For Daniel Cormier \u2014 former UFC double champion and now one of the sport\u2019s most respected analysts \u2014 Alexander Volkanovski has moved beyond dominance. He has entered the realm of all-time greatness. At home in Sydney, Volkanovski secured [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6626,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,21],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6625","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"category-ufc-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6625"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6625"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6627,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6625\/revisions\/6627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmamag.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}