UFC legends Paul Felder and Michael Bisping believe Volkanovski shouldn’t retire but consider his future outside the octagon first.
Neither Felder nor Bisping believes that Alexander Volkanovski should retire from the sport following his vicious KO loss to now-featherweight king Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 in Anaheim.
Yet both UFC icons agree that finding another job or role outside of fighting might be the answer to many of Volkanovski’s current problems; either as a distraction between fight camps or as a means of generating income for when he eventually hangs his gloves up.
UFC commentators offer ‘fantastic point’ on what Volk should do next
Both Bisping and Felder followed up their outstanding professional fighting careers with major roles in the UFC media landscape, as both presenters and commentators for the promotion – so they know their stuff when it comes to changing career trajectories.
Whilst neither believes that Volkanovski should retire from the sport just yet, finding another avenue for the Australian to explore outside of fighting could be the key to redefining the final portion of ‘The Great’ legacy that he has earned.
Talking about his relentless schedule on the Believe You Me podcast, Felder said that what Volkanovski struggles with is “the time in between, it’s the time when he doesn’t have a training camp, it’s when he doesn’t have a goal, so he needs to find something [else].”
“I think that this is a good time for him to go and figure out ‘Okay there is a cap, there is a ceiling to how long I can do this stuff, what am I going to do when it is finally done’. I’m not saying to retire now…but maybe its time to figure out ‘what am I going to do when I’m done making money through fighting?’”
Whether it’s coaching the next generation of Australian talent, running his own gym, or becoming a full-time member of the Fox Sports media team down under, Felder says that “he’s got to find ways to fill that time so that he doesn’t lose his mind like he has been in the past.”
Bisping agreed with the “fantastic point” that Felder brought up surrounding Volkanovski in between training camps: “When you are going from fight to fight to fight, you don’t have time to think about anything else because it’s all-consuming.”
“Now he is going to have some time so yeah, think about that.”
Thankfully, both UFC legends also agree that despite no longer being featherweight king, the world remains Volkanovski’s oyster.
“I’m sure a man like Volk has a tonne of options in Australia, [he’s got] ridiculous popularity, the sports booming out there [so] he could run a gym, he’s got money to invest in businesses, he’ll have plenty of cash.”
Considering both Volkanovski’s elite fight IQ, beloved personality, and experience with Australia’s sports media industry, gaining another role outside of fighting could be the perfect answer to regaining the belt.