Early career Starting as an amateur at middleweight and going 4–0 before turning professional, Volkanovski has fought in various MMA organizations in the
Oceania region in Asia from 2012 to July 2016 before signing with the
UFC. He won a Pacific Xtreme Combat (PXC) title and two
Australian Fighting Championship (AFC) Featherweight titles. Volkanovski amassed a record of 13–1 with 10 straight wins prior to joining the
UFC.
Ultimate Fighting Championship Volkanovski made his promotional debut on 26 November 2016, and increased his win streak to 11 with a second-round TKO against Yusuke Kasuya at
UFC Fight Night 101. He announced at the post-fight press conference that he would drop from lightweight to featherweight for his next fight.
Move down to Featherweight Volkanovski was expected to face Michel Quiñones on 19 February 2017 at
UFC Fight Night 105. However, the bout was scrapped after Quiñones suffered an injury and no replacement could be found. Volkanovski returned to Featherweight and faced
Mizuto Hirota on 11 June 2017 at
UFC Fight Night 110. He won the fight via unanimous decision after almost finishing Hirota following a knockdown. Volkanovski was expected to face
Jeremy Kennedy at
UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura on 19 November 2017, in
Sydney, Australia. However, Kennedy pulled out of the fight on 5 October, citing a back injury and was replaced by
Humberto Bandenay. In November 2017, it was announced that Bandenay would delay his UFC debut at this event due to undisclosed reasons, and was replaced by Drex Zamboanga. The bout proceeded at a catchweight of 150 pounds. Volkanovski won the fight via unanimous decision. The bout with Kennedy was rescheduled and took place on 11 February 2018 at
UFC 221. He won the fight via technical knockout. Volkanovski faced
Darren Elkins on 14 July 2018 at
UFC Fight Night 133. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Volkanovski faced
Chad Mendes on 29 December 2018 at
UFC 232. He won the fight via technical knockout in round two after surviving two knockdowns himself. This fight earned him the
Fight of the Night award. Volkanovski faced former featherweight champion
José Aldo at
UFC 237 on 11 May 2019. He won the fight via unanimous decision.
UFC Featherweight Champion Volkanovski vs. Holloway Volkanovski faced
Max Holloway on 14 December 2019, for the
UFC Featherweight Championship at
UFC 245. Volkanovski won the fight via unanimous decision.
Volkanovski vs. Holloway 2 Volkanovski made his first title defense in a rematch against
Max Holloway on 11 July 2020 at
UFC 251. He won the fight via split decision. This outcome was controversial amongst media outlets, with 18 out of 27 media scores giving it to Holloway, including mixed martial arts personalities such as UFC president
Dana White, former referee and creator of the rules system
John McCarthy, and multiple mixed martial artists.
Volkanovski vs. Ortega Volkanovski was scheduled to make his second title defense against
Brian Ortega on 27 March 2021 at
UFC 260. However, the fight was canceled due to
COVID-19 protocols. Volkanovski later
tweeted that he tested positive for COVID-19. On 2 April 2021, it was announced that
Brian Ortega and Volkanovski would be the coaches for
The Ultimate Fighter 29 at
ESPN+ and the show featured bantamweight and middleweight contestants. Volkanovski faced
Brian Ortega on 25 September 2021, at
UFC 266 for the
UFC Featherweight Championship. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Volkanovski received universal praise for escaping multiple submission attempts and persevering. This fight earned him the
Fight of the Night award.
Volkanovski vs. The Korean Zombie Volkanovski was scheduled to face
Max Holloway for a third time on 5 March 2022, at
UFC 272. However, a day after the announcement, Holloway was forced to pull from the event due to injury. Holloway was replaced by
Chan Sung Jung and the title bout was moved to
UFC 273 on 9 April 2022. After knocking Jung down multiple times, Volkanovski won the fight via TKO in the fourth round. The win earned him the
Performance of the Night award. The fight also earned him second place in the Crypto.com
"Fan Bonus of the Night" award. Volkanovski won the bout via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the fight 50–45. This win earned him the
Crypto.com Fan Bonus of the Night second-place award, which paid the
bitcoin equivalent of US$20,000.
Volkanovski vs. Makhachev Volkanovski moved up a weight class to challenge
Islam Makhachev for the
UFC Lightweight Championship on 12 February 2023 at
UFC 284. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the
Fight of the Night award.
Volkanovski vs. Rodríguez Volkanovski returned to featherweight and faced interim featherweight champion
Yair Rodríguez in a title unification bout for the
UFC Featherweight Championship on 8 July 2023 at
UFC 290. He won the fight via TKO in round three.
Volkanovski vs. Makhachev 2 Volkanovski was next scheduled to face
Ilia Topuria on 20 January 2024 to defend his
UFC Featherweight Championship at
UFC 297. However, before that bout took place, Volkanovski was tapped to step in on 10 days notice to face
UFC Lightweight Champion Islam Makhachev in a rematch, on 21 October 2023, at
UFC 294, as a replacement for an injured
Charles Oliveira. He lost the fight via head kick knockout in round one.
Volkanovski vs. Topuria Following the short notice rematch with Makhachev, the bout with
Ilia Topuria was initially expected to continue forward and take place on its original date of 20 January 2024 at
UFC 297. However, it was later pushed back one month to headline
UFC 298 on 17 February 2024 instead. Volkanovski lost the championship by knockout in the second round.
Volkanovski vs. Lopes With Topuria vacating the title, Volkanovski faced
Diego Lopes for the vacant
UFC Featherweight Championship on 12 April 2025 at
UFC 314. He won the fight by unanimous decision. This fight earned him another
Fight of the Night award. At the age of 36, he is the first male UFC fighter to win a title over the age of 35 between the flyweight and lightweight divisions.
Volkanovski vs. Lopes 2 Volkanovski defended his title in a rematch against
Diego Lopes on 1 February 2026 at
UFC 325. He won the fight by unanimous decision. This fight earned him a $100,000
Fight of the Night award. ==Professional boxing career==