- Michael Bisping is certain Alexander Volkanovski could finish Islam Makachev with one shot just like what he did when he took on Luke Rockhold on short notice
- “The Count” thinks Volk is free from the mental anxiety that a full training camp sometimes causes
Michael Bisping could relate to Alexander Volkanovski as the reigning featherweight champ heads to UFC 294 against Islam Makhachev on short notice. For “The Count,” Volk’s situation could play out like what happened to him when he dethroned Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 on short notice as well.
Short notice fights are better mentally
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former middleweight champion pointed out that the good thing about taking short notice fights is that it spares the replacement fighter from anxieties. And if a fighter has the ability to take his opponent out with one shot like him and Volkanovski, then the unthinkable might just happen.
“If we’re being honest, more than likely, Islam Makhachev is going to be better prepared, he’s going to be in better cardiovascular shape, he’s going to have better conditioning and stamina, okay, but Volkanovski isn’t the type of guy that blows up and gets out of shape… he’s always training,” Bisping began.
“Sure, you have to peak throughout an 8-week period, that is optimal, that’s what you’re looking for but sometimes you go out there and just swing, you never know, you might just connect. [My] ‘Left hook Larry’ did that when I went out there and fought Luke Rockhold, short notice, just over two weeks I believe, I was extremely confident, I really was but again, I felt no pressure and that is so mentally freeing because when you go into a fight right a lot of the mental anxiety comes from, ‘I can’t afford to lose, I don’t want to do all this work and be made a fool of, I don’t want to grind every single day in the gym show up and then get beaten,'” he continued.
“So, it affects your mentality, it affects your output, it affects your willingness to commit to every single strike. Now as I said, that’s not an issue for Volkanovski because he’s taking it on such short notice,” he added.
Islam’s coach said the same thing
Makhachev’s coach Javier Mendez also echoed the same thing about Volkanovski’s situation at UFC 294. Mendez said that the only thing they are avoiding is to get finished by Volk with one shot. Like Bisping, Mendez also thinks the short notice could even be beneficial for “The Great” as he gets to come in fresh and not worn out.
As for the mental anxiety Bisping was talking about, Makhachev’s mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov claims that they are not dealing with any of that. In fact, Nurmagomedov said that Islam is even “more motivated” to beat Volkanovski than he was with Charles Oliveira.
UFC 294 will take place this weekend. The main event will be a rematch between Makhachev and Volkanovski. As it stands, Makhachev already beat Volk via decision at UFC 284 but “The Great” was given another opportunity to become a two-division champ once again.
Check out Bisping’s full video below:
