Featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski is expected to defend his title against Brian Ortega at UFC 266, in September. He does not think that the challenger has what it takes to handle a fight against him.
Volkanovksi and Ortega are currently the opposing coaches on the return of TUF. This delayed their already postponed title fight, which was canceled after the champ had a run-in with COVID-19.
Now the bout appears to be set for UFC 266, sometime towards the end of September. When asked how he thought the fight would go in a recent interview, Alex explained that his knowledge of the game is at another level heading into this fight, and that T-City will not be able to withstand his skills.
“Obviously I want a finish, you want to put him away, but honestly I think I’m going to be way too much for him,” Volkanovski said.
“This whole process of being away, I had so much time to do Jiu-Jitsu and all that stuff, but evolve. Being away from the family and (filming TUF), all I had to focus on was the boys and work on gameplans, study fights, break down positions, and the whole time I was focused on fighting and I was evolving as a fighter while I was doing that…
“My understanding of the game right now, is just at another level,” Volkanovski continued. “I feel like there’s so many tools in this belt, so many tools in this arsenal right now, and I can’t wait to use them all. I just think I’m going to be too much for Ortega.”
Alexander Volkanovski Has Some Things To Say
In the lead-up to the initial scheduling of Alexander Volkanovski vs Brian Ortega, things were fairly respectful between the two. However the rivalry between them has certainly started to brew in their time coaching TUF.
So while the champ is not going to go out of his way to antagonize, he says that he expects things to be more heated in this second buildup. In fact, he says that he has some choice words for Brian, when they do come face to face.
“We’ll see. At the end of the day, we’re not criminals the are going to just start swinging every time. But I mean, when you’re in each others face, words are going to be said. Sometimes you do things you’re not meant to,” Volkanovski said.
“So we’ll see what happens, but definitely words are going to be said, because I’ve got some things to say… I’ll definitely have some things to say, and I’m sure he’ll have some things to say too, but we’ll see what happens.
“I ain’t letting anyone slap me. I know the last time someone said something to him, he wanted to put a good slapping on Korean Zombie’s boy, Jay Park… I ain’t no pop star. I definitely won’t take a slap to the face, so be ready for something to come back at you if you try that s—t on me.”
How do you see Alexander Volkanovski vs Brian Ortega playing out? Will there be some tension the next time these two featherweights face off?
