SUMMARY
- Alexander Volknovski is considered to be one of the greatest fighters in the UFC.
- However, Volknovski's stats as the Featherweight Champion are nothing compared to Jose Aldo's.
Alexander Volkanovski can be considered one of the greatest fighters in the UFC. Alex became the first Australian-born champion in the promotion and went on to create a legacy to be remembered. He was ranked the UFC Men’s Pound-for-Pound No. 1 in 2022 and 2023. He also held the longest active title reign in the UFC before being defeated by Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 via a 2nd round knockout.
Although the Australian held a dominant title run, many would debate him to be the most accomplished featherweight. Often, when naming the division, GOAT Brazilian mixed martial artist Jose Aldo tops the list. Aldo is considered one of the most acclaimed UFC fighters to ever step in the octagon and has often provided elite performances against top featherweights during his MMA career.
Alexander Volkanovski is undefeated at Featherweight.
Conor McGregor is undefeated at Featherweight in UFC.
Jose Aldo’s only Featherweight defeats are to fellow UFC champions.
Max Holloway hasn’t lost at FW to a non-champion since 2013. pic.twitter.com/iQWLMgwSd4
— Andy Hickey MMA (@AndyHickeyMMA) February 13, 2024
He was the first UFC Featherweight Champion following the UFC/WEC merger and established his dominance in the promotion. Aldo won the WEC Featherweight Championship defeating Mike Brown at WEC 44 via a second-round TKO. During his reign, he would become the UFC featherweight champion twice. He held an overall professional MMA record of 31 wins and 8 losses.
Aldo’s first UFC defeat would come against ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor. Up until that defeat, he had won over elite UFC fighters such as Chad Mendes, Frankie Edgar, and Chan Sung Jung, to name a few. His last UFC bout would be against Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 278, losing via decision.
Alexander Volkanovski vs Jose Aldo’s featherweight title run – Defenses, records, days as UFC Champion, and more
On comparing their stats as champions, Jose Aldo outranks Alex Volkanovski, although both do run close circles. The Brazilian holds the most successful title defenses in UFC featherweight history as well as the most consecutive title defenses in UFC featherweight history at seven. Volkanovski holds a close second-most title fight win in the UFC featherweight division history record at six, with five successful title defenses.
Aldo also holds the most title fights in UFC featherweight history at 11. Volkanovski surpasses Jose in having the second longest win streak in UFC featherweight division history at 11 compared to his 7-fight win streak. The Brazilian held the title for six years from his WEC days before being defeated infamously by Conor McGregor at the UFC 194 main event.
Alexander held the title for around 4 years before losing it at UFC 298. Volk gets the upper edge by holding the highest striking differential in UFC featherweight division history. Both can be considered the benchmark for their time and have given a lot to the sport. Aldo, however, holds more history in carrying the title to its relevance today and being a dominant force in two different promotions.
