SUMMARY
- Previously at UFC 298, Ilia Topuria knocked Alexander Volkanovski and won the Featherweight belt.
- There are several fighters who lost their Championship bouts while being 35 or older.
Alexander Volkanovski entered the octagon ring in UFC 298 with a chip on his shoulder. The 35-year-old was the second favorite against Ilia Topuria not because of his skills but because of the recent history of older fighters in championship bouts in the UFC.
It was widely reported ahead of the UFC 298 that male fighters in UFC title fights at 170 pounds (welterweight) and below have been on the losing end for a combined record of 23 losses and only two wins. The record became more daunting when six fighters aged 35 or older lost their respective UFC Championship fights in 2023.
Alexander Volkanovski’s crushing defeat to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298
Alexander Volkanovski wanted to change the narrative in 2024, but Ilia Topuria came out on top with a second-round knockout to win the UFC welterweight championship. The Australian UFC fighter joined the list of Colby Covington, Henry Cejudo, Kamaru Usman, Josh Emmett, and Deiveson Figueiredo as the fighters aged 35 or above to lose their championship bouts since 2023.
*Against younger opponents.
Tyron Woodey has wins over Darren Till (older) and Demian Maia (younger) when he was 35+
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 18, 2024
Alexander Volkanovski was already on this list with his 2023 loss against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 in the rematch for the UFC Lightweight Championship. The only person who has come out on top in this statistic is the fallen UFC legend, Tyron Woodley.
Woodley defeated Darren Till when he was 36 years old at UFC 228. He defeated Demian Maia when he was 35 years old at UFC 214. That victory over Till in 2018 was the last time Woodley won a fight in the UFC. He was later dethroned by Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 in 2019.
Tyron Woodley yet to return to UFC after four consecutive losses
Tyron Woodley has been on a losing streak of four fights in the UFC. The streak started with the loss against Kamaru Usman in UFC 235 in 2019. Woodley returned in May 2020 with a fight against Gilbert Burns but lost that clash by a unanimous decision.
I present to you the only man to beat the 35 curse.
Tyron Woodley. #UFC300 #UFC298 pic.twitter.com/if1gj43e8m
— Mateo Brathwaite (@MateoAGI) February 18, 2024
Woodley returned four months later, in September 2020, to face Colby Covington. He was knocked out by Covington in the fifth round to register his third loss in a row. Woodley took a six-month break and returned to the ring against Vicente Luque at UFC 260.
Woodley’s contract with the UFC ended in April 2021 after competing for eight years in the American promotion. The American was last seen in combat sports when he stepped into a boxing ring in December 2021 to face Jake Paul as a replacement for Tommy Fury. Woodley was knocked out in the sixth round of the fight to make six consecutive losses in combat sports.