‘Proof is in the pudding’ – Chad Mendes hails Alexander Volkanovski as featherweight GOAT ahead of UFC 325

Alexander Volkanovski is the greatest UFC featherweight of all time.

That’s according to three-time UFC title challenger Chad Mendes, who fought Volkanovski in the final MMA fight of his career just over seven years ago.

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Mendes tried his hand at bare-knuckle boxing under the BKFC banner after retiring from the sport and has now settled at Real American Freestyle (RAF).

The 40-year-old from California takes on former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson at RAF 6 on February 28, with a big goal of helping to grow the sport of wrestling in his five-match deal.

Ahead of the bout, ‘Money’ spoke to talkSPORT.com and was asked if he considers Volkanovski, who defends his old division’s title at UFC 325 this weekend, as the greatest featherweight of all time.

In the early 2010s, Mendes was widely regarded as one of the best 145lb fighters on the planet, losing only to Jose Aldo in his first 17 professional MMA fights.

So his opinion on the subject carries serious weight.

Chad Mendes: Alexander Volkanovski’s record speaks for itself

“I think so, man,” Mendes responded.

“The proof is in the pudding — look at who he’s beaten.

“It wasn’t like fluke wins. He’s got multiple victories over some of the top guys.

“It wasn’t just an off night for someone — it’s happened multiple times.

“So it’s tough to say otherwise.”

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Volkanovski can cement his status as the featherweight king when he defends his title in a rematch with Diego Lopes on Saturday in his native Australia.

After dropping the belt to Ilia Topuria in February 2024, ‘The Great’ reclaimed his featherweight throne last time out in his first meeting with Brazil’s Lopes at UFC 314.

He previously won and defended the title five times, after wins over Mendes and Aldo in 2018 and 2019.

Volkanovski has become a fan-favourite and household name in Dana White‘s promotion during his reign as champion, and his championship mindset is something Mendes appreciates.

Alexander The Great

“I like the guy’s mindset when it comes to sports, but then also living a family life,” Mendes added.

“He’s definitely somebody that I feel like this younger generation can look up to — a positive role model in this day and age is tough to find, so the dude is a stud.

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“Going into our fight, at that point, he was relatively unknown, but he had fought one of my teammates, so I knew how tough he was.

“We knew that was a tough fight going into that. I think we had a little bit of a bad game plan going into it, but it doesn’t matter — Volk’s a stud anyways.”

After losing to Aldo the first time, Mendes embarked on a five-fight winning streak before getting another crack at the Brazilian.

However, the ‘King of Rio’ proved to be the American’s kryptonite, defeating Mendes in a second featherweight title bout at UFC 179.

Mendes then stopped Ricardo Lamas before he fought Conor McGregor, who was bursting onto the scene at the time.

With undisputed champion Aldo out injured, ‘Money’ accepted the 2015 bout with McGregor on 10 days’ notice in a battle for the interim belt.

But Mendes failed again on his third attempt to win gold in arguably the most famous fight of his career, before tasting another defeat to Frankie Edgar five months later.

After missing 2016 and 2017 because of a failed drug test, Mendes returned for what would be his final UFC fight against Volkanovski in 2018.

He then called time on his MMA career at the age of 34 in 2019, knowing his time was up and bowing out of the sport with ‘no regrets.’

With Volkanovski, 37, constantly being questioned on his own retirement ahead of UFC 325, Mendes knows how it feels.

Counting the Feathers

“It’s one of those tough points in his career where he’s getting older,” Mendes concluded.

“He’s getting to the point where, as much as you don’t want it to happen, it’s going to happen, but you have to end it sooner or later.

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“Obviously, I still think he’s at the top of his game and I think he’s going to win this fight.

“I remember that feeling of just like, ‘How many more do I have in me?’ At what point is it just me dragging it out and I’m just reaching?

“I know the struggle he’s probably going through right now.

“So I’m hoping he goes out there, puts on a great show, feels great, gets the win and then can make the decision that is correct at that moment.

“It’s not easy for sure.”

UFC 325 goes down at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney this weekend.

You can expect Volkanovski and Lopes to make their walks to the Octagon after 4am GMT (11pm ET, 3pm AEDT), depending how the other fights play out.