Write Alexander Volkanovski off at your own peril.
That’s the message that the UFC featherweight champion and No.1 ranked pound-for-pound fighter wants his doubters and critics to know ahead of his upcoming superfight against UFC lightweight champion and No.2 pound-for-pound fighter Islam Makhachev.
The pair are set to clash in the main event at UFC 284 in Perth next Sunday (AEDT), where Makhachev will put his 155-pound championship belt on the line, while Volkanovski will risk his place atop the pound-for-pound standings.
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“Every time someone tells me I can’t do something, that pretty much fires me up and makes me wanna shut them up and prove them wrong,” Volkanovski said.
“That is my main drive, especially for this next one. So many people think it can’t be done. The way people are going on it’s like this guys invincible and all this type of stuff.
“A lot of people say (to themselves) ‘I should protect my winning streak and I’ll do that (fight instead) just in case’ but I say f**k that… That’s an opportunity there, that’s where you make history, that’s what people are gonna talk about and that’s what I’m all about.”
Despite being undefeated in the UFC (12-0) – and having recorded 21 consecutive victories following his sole loss in MMA back in 2013 – the Wollongong native is a heavy underdog ($4) to defeat Makhachev ($1.24) and earn ‘double champ’ status, according to TAB’s odds.
Contrary to what oddsmakers, his opponent, UFC pundits and fans may think – the 34-year-old is resolute in his belief that he won’t be overwhelmed by Makhachev’s supposed size and strength advantage.
“The fact that I’m moving up (weight classes) is always gonna (create doubts from people), especially with me being reasonably short, and then people are looking at it stylistically thinking not only is he moving up where people have the size advantage but now he’s versing the best grappler/wrestler in that division,” Volkanovski said.
“Strength has never been an issue for me. I’ve always been undersized with everything I ever did. It’s gonna be a hard challenge but I guarantee that I can do it.”
UFC legends Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping also feel like Volkanovski’s chances in this matchup are being undersold.
“The two toughest divisions in the UFC are 145-pounds and 155-pounds… you have a king of one (of those) divisions and a king of the other division and yet the smaller guy (Volkanovski) isn’t big enough, I don’t understand that,” Sonnen said earlier today on his YouTube channel.
“I mean that has just never been a factor any other time we’ve done this (throughout history)… I do feel that you’re being silly… It appears that you just don’t think Volkanovski can deal with the field (at lightweight) cause you just think he’s too small – which is the same thing you said about (Conor) McGregor when he went up to ’55, the same thing you said about (Daniel) Cormier when he went up to heavyweight.”
Bisping meanwhile feels that the Aussies lack of height and step up in weight class could actually be an advantage rather than a disadvantage.
“Islam has the better wrestling, it’s as simple as that, but Volkanovski is a much shorter guy and when you’re shorter you have a lower centre of gravity therefore you’re harder to take down,” Bisping said during a November episode of ‘Fight Talk’.
“Also you’re legs are shorter so it’s a smaller target to get hold of so Islam’s gonna have to level change much more to get in deep enough to get around the legs or secure a body lock.
“Volkanovski is also going up in weight – which is only a 10-pound increase – but that is a significant because he is gonna be stronger (than usual), he’s not gonna have as much of a weight cut, he’s gonna have more muscle and the man is already incredibly strong. He has fantastic takedown defence. Islam Makhachev is gonna have a really hard time taking him down. On the feet Volkanovski is beautiful to watch, look at what he does to people.”
Meanwhile UFC veteran Dan Hooker, who has fought Islam Makhachev and regularly trains with Volkanovski at City Kickboxing, shares Sonnen and Bisping’s sentiment.
“That’s a hard man to hold on the deck,” Hooker said in an interview in November.
“He’s a very, very stocky young man and I don’t see him (Volkanovski) getting held down. I’ve never seen it and I don’t anticipate it happening so I essentially think it’s going to be a striking fight so everyone can decide how they think that’s gonna play out.”
Volk proves his class against Holloway | 01:58
Volkanovski comes into this fight riding a wave of momentum after being named the UFC ‘Fighter of the Year’ following two stellar performances in 2022 and is looking to build on that moving forward.
“Incredible year, obviously biggest year to date for me with defending the title in big wins over guys like Max Holloway and Korean Zombie (as well as being named) the pound-for-pound number one, a few cool accomplishments there, things that I’m very proud of… but… 2023 is definitely gonna top 2022,” Volkanovski said.
“I’m very proud of who I am, who I’ve become, and what I’ve achieved but it’s not enough. I think my legacy is still great but I want it to be one of the greatest and it starts off obviously with the 12th (of February).”
UFC legend Chael Sonnen believes that Volkanovski is the most underrated UFC fighter of all time.
“Do you know what it’s like to be the undefeated champion of the world and you can’t bring an arena to their feet,” Sonnen said recently on his YouTube channel.
“Do you know what it’s like to walk out last as the main event but Chimaev and Burns was 20 minutes earlier and that’s the one that the crowd got the most into.
“Do you know what it’s like to be a main event on pay-per-view and having people get up and their leaving because they know what the outcomes gonna be and they would rather not see the final moment in exchange for getting to their vehicle and getting home without a traffic line up. I mean do you know what that would be like and yet he (Volkanovski) dealt with it, he pushed through it, and he got through it anyway.
“It’s a very hard way to compete when the expectations are so high… it’s not great (to be the favourite in a fight) and Volkanovski dealt with it anyway. You are giving him something right now (by having him as such a heavy underdog). It is a competitive advantage that all pressure has been taken off him. It is a competitive disadvantage that Islam is expected to dominate him… I like Volk in this fight from jump street, but I like him even more now.”
Volkanovski is so determined to prove his doubters wrong and reach his goal of becoming double champ that he has had a longer than usual fight camp to prepare for whatever his opponent may throw at him.
“This (challenge) is already making me so much better of a fighter than I originally was… Every (training) session that I’m doing is a specific position for this fight. I don’t wanna waste a single minute on something I ain’t gonna do. Right now every minute that I spend in the gym is specific for Islam,” the Australian champion said.
“Obviously if we don’t get taken down then beauty but in my head I need to prepare as if we’re going down. I need people to put me in the worst possible position I can (be) and I’ll fight from it. That’s why you’ll always see me composed no matter where I am. Even if he gets me in a bad position, you’ll probably see a smile on my face or you’ll probably see me talking saying ‘is this all you’ve got’.”
Meanwhile his Russian opponent also has a supreme confidence that he will be victorious next Sunday after impressively taking out former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira back in October.
So confident is Makhachev that the Dagestani fighter even went as far as claiming he will finish the Aussie inside three rounds and saying “he’s gonna give up” in a recent interview.
Volkanovski has shown he is near impossible to put away and also demonstrated an incredible ability to never give up, even when facing serious adversity like the third round of the Ortega fight – where he escaped not one but two terrifying submission attempts.
“I’ll be fighting for every millimetre and I’ll do that for 25 minutes. You won’t see me break at all, I’ll just keep going,” Volkanovski said.
“I need to capitalise when I’m on the feet. If he takes me down, I need to get back up and get hands on him. I need to either win the round or put him to sleep and I’m going to be putting hands on him trying to find that chin and find it hard.”
Moreover than just feeling equipped to withstand anything Islam throws at him, Volkanovski believes that once his opponent realises he won’t have things all his own way for a change the lightweight champion will be the one beginning to question what he has gotten himself into.
“Before the fight is different. I didn’t see any fear in his eyes. He wasn’t feeling uncomfortable,” Volk said.
“It’s a different story once I’m standing in front of you (at fight time) and I start doing my movement, once I start putting hands on you, once you grab a hold (of me) and you’re like ‘f**k he’s a strong little bastard’, once I get straight back up and pop you in the face. That’s when he’ll start getting uncomfortable.
“I think he’s gonna be mentally strong as well. I know Khabib and the boys put themselves through work, they train hard but I feel like them being so uncomfortable on the feet and then getting desperate for takedowns and not being as successful as they planned, then that’s when he’s gonna start losing his head. Him and his corner.”
As to who will continue their unbeaten run and emerge victorious in front of a raucous Perth crowd, we will have to wait until next Sunday to find out.
