- Robert Whittaker is confident Alexander Volkanovski will become champion again at UFC 314
- “The Reaper” detailed how “The Great” will defeat Diego Lopes
Robert Whittaker broke down how Alexander Volkanovski would beat Diego Lopez and become the featherweight champion once again at UFC 314.
Whittaker thinks the older version of Volk will get it done
Speaking on his MMArcade podcast, “The Reaper” shared his honest take on Volkanovski’s upcoming title fight with Lopes. For Whittaker, all the criticisms stating “The Great” is already washed don’t make any sense, considering how skilled Volkanovski is.
However, Whittaker also pointed out that Volk has to go back to his old form in order to get the job done.
“Let me clear straight away, I’m going for Volk. So, everything is going to be colored green and gold right now but I think the million-dollar question is what Volk are we going to see in the Octagon come that night, come UFC 314? Because… everyone was already talking about his losses to Makhachev, his knockout and then you back that on to the knockout with Topuria, you backed that on to his age and as MMA fans like to do, as soon as he lost, they started throwing his age around and calling him a wash which is the silliest thing,” the former middleweight champion said.
“Pre-Makhachev-won Volk, I think beats Diego Lopez like Volk’s skill set and just his composure, his toughness, his grit, his fight IQ, his ability to fight in the Octagon, is second to none… But again with all the other factors we look into it, which Volk do we see?,” he emphasized.
Whittaker sees Volk winning via decision or late finish
As for his UFC 314 main event prediction, “The Reaper” detailed how he sees Volkanovski systematically dismantling Lopes. Based on Whittaker’s assessment, “The Great” will either outmatch Lopes en route to a decision win or score a late finish.
“I see Volk going in there, using full skill sets, landing shots, going for takedowns, wearing Diego Lopes down, riding him for five rounds, and winning a decision. Or by getting him out of there in the later end of the rounds,” Whittaker predicted. “I can see him chopping that calf, doing his step-through left hand. I can see him pushing Diego backwards, dropping for doubles against the fence.”
“He stopped using it as much once he was champ, except for against people like Yair [Rodriguez], he was bullying him with it. But he wrestled a lot in the beginning of his career and utilized it to great effect,” he added. “I reckon we see a well-rounded, Volk top-tier skill set, and we have another champ in Australia.”
Volkanovski will make the most of the opportunity to reclaim his belt after Ilia Topuria vacated the featherweight title. However, he would have to do the unthinkable as Lopes is coming off an remarkable five-fight winning streak.
UFC 314 will take place on April 12th at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
