Former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski says he will be taking some much-needed time off following his second-straight knockout loss.
Volkanovski was knocked out by Islam Makhachev back in October for the lightweight title, in a fight he took on short notice. Despite being knocked out, he returned to defend his featherweight title against Ilia Topuria and suffered a second-round knockout loss.
Now, following the KO loss, Volkanovski says he will be taking some time off to rest his head, but vows his next fight will be for the title.
“I’m gonna let the head rest so the training’s gonna be clever, especially for a couple of months,” Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel. “It’s good. That’s what I’ve been able to do this week. I’ve felt great. Depending on what Ilia does, if he was to want to be very active and fight soon, which would mean my rematch would be rushed, alright, I’m happy to be like, ‘If you’re gonna be that active, I’m gonna have to wait.’
“I know my next fight is definitely gonna be for the title and the rematch but if he was to go somewhere else because he’d want to be active, which I would be more than okay with. Obviously, I’m not gonna do that because of my head, you want to take that serious, but my next fight will definitely 100 percent be the rematch,” Volkanovksi added.
How long Alexander Volkanovski will be taking off is uncertain, but the former champ knows he has to take care of his brain.
Volkanovski confesses that the knockout defeat to Makhachev affected his usual fighting style, making him more defensive than usual.
“(I’ve had) being caught (vs. Makhachev) on my mind,” Volkanovski said. “Look, people are going to speculate and say, ‘He’s chinny. It wasn’t a long enough break.’ I think my team did a great job. But was it on my mind? Yeah. Obviously, I told myself it wouldn’t be. That’s what I mean when I say I was in two minds in there.
“I was fighting like, ‘I can’t get caught,’ but trying to tell myself, ‘You’re all good – come on. You’ve got to start going. Start fighting your fight.’ It was a tricky one. Maybe it did (play a factor). That makes me take this serious. It’s two (knockouts) in a row now. Put it this way: I’m not planning on having a quick turnaround like I did after the October fight with Islam.”
Alexander Volkanovski vows to get his belt back
Once Alexander Volkanovski takes enough time off and is ready to return, he says he will be fighting for the title next.
If he does get an immediate rematch against Topuria, Volkanovski so confident he will beat the Georgian-Spainaird to reclaim his featherweight title.
“Mark my words, I am getting that belt back. I’m gonna do everything in my power. I’m gonna have some rest, but when I do decide to get back in there or when we do have a date, I’m gonna do everything in my power to make sure I get that belt back here to me and my family. I’ve always done it for my family, supporters, Australia and whatnot. It ain’t just gonna be about that. I’m doing that for me. I don’t think I’ve ever really done it for myself,” Volkanovski said.
Currently, there is no word on when Topuria will return, so Volkanovski is just focused on his recovery.
