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There’s been a lot of doubt cast on how the UFC Featherweight Champion will do after being knocked out by Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. Suffering the short-notice loss in October, Volkanovski looks to dust himself off in a title defense against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298.
‘The Perfect Bounce-Back Fight’
With four months to recuperate, Volkanovski believes he’ll overcome a ‘dangerous’ challenger in his comeback fight on Feb. 17.
“He’s a good matchup,” Volkanovski told Michael Bisping. “A lot of hype around him, undefeated, I think this is just the perfect bounce-back fight for me as well. A lot of people are saying he’s dangerous, which look, he is dangerous. He’s a powerful dude. He’s undefeated, that’s a story in itself.”
Volkanovski ‘Just Can’t See’ What The Critics Are Saying
Then, there’s the narrative that Volkanovski is making a grave mistake by taking a title fight with Topuria four months after being stopped by Makhachev. Volkanovski isn’t buying into this talk for one second.
“You’ve got the story of what happened in my last fight. People are like, ‘oh, is he coming back too soon?’ All this is a part of the story,” Volkanovski continued. “When I look at it, I’m like, mate, I’ve been in camp for that long. I don’t know how people are saying, ‘oh, he’s back too soon’… I just can’t see it.
“I’ve been like busting my ass for that long. I’m like, what do you mean? Like, I’ve had that much time. This has been a very long camp for me. Obviously, I followed all the protocols after it from concussion and that like, I’m lucky enough to have a great team around me. But, we followed that to a t and that’s why the fight was pushed back a month because we just thought January was rushing. We wanted them that extra month where I could ease into it and then start camp. That’s what we did.”
Keeping Busy
‘The Great’ explains the decision to fight Topuria along with the motivation he has going into his sixth title defense.
“I’m not doing this just to get my head right. I’m doing this because I wanna be active I want to be busy and I know it’s enough time,” Volkanovski added. “A lot of people are gonna sit there and say there’s the mental side of things and I get that— but, I’m just different. I go into every fight like I’m a pretty confident guy where I believe the only chance a lot of these guys that I fight is, if [they beat me], it’s by catching me.
“So, it’s not like, ‘oh, he got finished, now he’s gonna second guess…’ I always fight smart. I always try and be calculated. If I lose, a good chance of that happening is from getting caught. I’m aware of that. I’ve always been that through my whole career. Nothing has changed for me, even in the gym, in sparring.
“It’s just another camp,” Volkanovski said. “Busting my ass, pull myself through the wringer like I always do and that’s just that.”
‘We Have To See Where His Level’s At’
Alexander Volkanovski is ready for the challenge that comes with fighting the 14-0 Ilia Topuria.
“I think he’s a good matchup,” Volkanovski said of his next title challenger. “He’s undefeated [but] he hasn’t fully tested himself, like with guys like myself or Max Holloway or like Yair Rodriguez or something. So, I’ve questioned that, but that’s not knocking as if he’s not at that level. It’s just we haven’t seen it yet.
“Obviously, there’s always gonna be levels. We have to see where his level’s at. We will see, February 17th.”
UFC 298 takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
