On Saturday night, UFC featherweight star Alexander Volkanovski was taught a brutal lesson by Ilia Topuria, a man eight years his junior.

In the build-up to his UFC 298 main event clash with Ilia Topuria, Volkanovski teased the suggestions that he would fall victim to the ‘Over 35’ UFC title fight curse.

The Australian joked at the idea that he would taste defeat to his Georgian counter-part – who has previously been likened to Conor McGregor – before later watching Topuria take ownership of his UFC title.

And, as McGregor prepares to make a comeback, the question remains as to whether he will meet the same fate that has met fellow UFC veterans.

Here, Mail Sport takes a look at Volkanovski’s defeat, the growing evidence of older fighters in lighter divisions falling short and what it means for McGregor’s potential return.

Alexander Volkanovski (R) was defeated by Ilia Topuria (L) in their featherweight title fight

The Australian star was taught a brutal lesson after the stunning KO defeat on Saturday night

In the build-up to Volkanovski’s clash with Topuria, the Australian poked fun at comments that he had become ‘too old’ to keep hold of his title and tried to make light of the situation.

‘The Great’ opted to partner with Sportsbet to produce a hilarious video making fun of his age which, in hindsight, has aged terribly.

‘Volkanovski too old – they’ll make a headline out of anything these days,’ he said in the clip, while dressed like a much older man.

‘All this talk about the over 35 curse, it’s nonsense. So I’ve let the Sportsbet crew in to prove I’m just as youthful as these whippersnappers.’

The champ hits all the cliches, including falling asleep on the couch and talking to his neighbour over the back fence.

Following that video, he then arrived for the official weigh-in for UFC 298 dressed like an old man to play up on the ‘experienced’ campaigner line.

Asked about the gimmick, Volkanovski said: ‘Just having a bit of fun with it, you know what I mean? You’ve got to do it. And for the people as well! Everyone appreciated the outfit so I wanted to do it in person.’

In the build-up to the fight, Volkanovski jokingly played into the suggestions that he was too old and that Topuria, eight years younger, would have the edge on him

However, Volkanovski was later stunned by his younger counter-part during their fight

‘I think this old man needs to teach this young fella a lesson, what do you reckon?’

Topuria says: ‘You see how you came dressed, you already know what’s going to happen. You came ready for retirement, old man.’

Unfortunately for Volkanovski, the gimmick backfired on him as – during the second-round of their fight – he was brutally knocked out by his Georgian counter-part.

Topuria threw a heavy right just over the shoulder and onto the chin of ‘The Great’, who crumpled to the canvas, where he remained for at least a couple of minutes.

In doing so, Volkanovski joined the long list of UFC fighters aged 35 and over – in title fights at 170 pounds (welterweight) and below – how have lost their belts.

The record or ‘curse’ now stands at 2-32 for fighters aged 35 and above when competing for the belt at welterweight and below.

The only fighter to defy this curse has been Tyron Woodley, in his title fights against Demian Maia and Darren Till.

Kamaru Usman (R) fell to defeat against Leon Edwards (L) when they fought in 2023

Tyron Woodley (R) is the only fighter aged 35 or over to claim victory in a UFC title fight, after his victories over Demian Maia and Darren Till (L)

In recent years, fans have watched top veterans like Henry Cejudo, Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal get beaten by younger opponents in title fights.

Just last year, six fighters aged 35 and over entered the octagon in a bid to get their hands on UFC gold – however all six of them failed.

Deiveson Figueiredo, Josh Emmett, Colby Covington, Usman, Cejudo and Volkanovski himself all tasted defeat during titles fights in 2023 as the ‘Over 35’ curse continued to wreak havoc on the sport.

With that in mind, it only makes sense to turn your attention to the UFC’s most iconic star – who had been planning to make a return in 2024.

Irishman Conor McGregor had been highly tipped to make his UFC comeback later this year, although talks of that have slowed up on recent weeks.

There had been suggestions that Conor McGregor would make a return to the UFC in 2024

McGregor has not fought since suffering a broken tibia in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier

After UFC 298 this weekend, UFC chief White claimed that money has ‘complicated’ McGregor’s long-awaited return to the organisation.

And, with the knowledge of veteran fighters’ luck in recent years, perhaps the decision to postpone a return is wise for the Irishman.

McGregor, who turns 36 in July, has won just one of his last four UFC bouts. That came back in January 2020 as he defeated Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone via TKO.

However, in his other three bouts, he came up second best. Firstly to rival Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018 before back-to-back defeats against Dustin Poirier.

Despite recent sparring footage showing him honing his craft in the octagon set up in his garden, the question remains whether we’ll ever see him in the UFC again.

Of course, McGregor is not going to be fighting for a title when he comes back and is expected to face Michael Chandler, who is 37.

But in terms of McGregor’s aspirations to win back gold at lightweight or featherweight – the stats would suggest that those days are long behind him.