After going 14 fights without being finished in the UFC, the former featherweight champion is now coming off of back-to-back knockout losses.
This has led to some fans criticizing Alexander Volkanovski over his recent comments in regards to his mentality.
‘The Great’ is still confident that he’s one of the very best in the world and he will look to prove that at UFC 314 where Volkanovski faces Diego Lopes for the vacant title.
Suffering a devastating knockout loss is sure to shake any fighter’s confidence and Volkanovski did admit that planning his return wasn’t an easy process.
However, there is one major narrative from his latest outing that many believe will be crucial on both April 12 and the rest of his career.
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Alexander Volkanovski says he felt the impact of the quick turnaround when stepping inside the cage at UFC 298
The results on his record alone don’t necessarily tell the full story of Alexander Volkanovski’s recent form.
He stepped in on short notice in far less than ideal circumstances for his rematch with Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 where he was stopped in the first round.
Despite many fans, fighters and people around him raising concerns, Volkanovski decided to go ahead with the next defense of his featherweight title which came just months after.
You certainly can’t take anything away from Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 but there was a question as to whether the defending champion’s quick turnaround from a knockout loss impacted his performance.
Volkanovski’s fans will be hoping that now that he has had some serious time off, he will look back to his best against Diego Lopes in Miami.
In a recent interview with Demetrious Johnson on The MightyCast, the former champion spoke about how he believes he was affected by the turnaround despite being completely confident during his preparations.
“I said I was never going to hold up divisions. A lot of people thought I was mad fighting three months later against Ilia Topuria but no one could have changed my mind. That’s what I had, I’m like, ‘No I’m sweet, I’m getting back in there. This is my job, my responsibility. I said I wouldn’t hold up divisions, I ain’t gonna hold it.’ They’re like, ‘Oh what about you’re coming off a knockout loss, that messes with your confidence and all that’.
“I’m calling b——- on that, there’s no way, I didn’t believe any of that. You couldn’t have told me that and the only time I maybe felt something, a little bit, was when I was in the cage. That’s where I was like, ‘Alright, maybe there is something to this’.”
Whilst Volkanovski didn’t specifically give away what it is that he believes was affected in the fight, he did add that it had happened consistently in his training camp in hindsight.
After the fight, a lot of people pointed to how Volkanovski was backing out of the exchanges with Topuria which made him susceptible to a big shot over the top, which could be what ‘The Great’ is referring to though that isn’t confirmed here.
“Even looking back, I was even doing some of that even in camp as well before it but I mean you couldn’t have told me that but anyway, I won’t get into it.”
Alexander Volkanovski needs to have put these losses behind him by UFC 314
Whilst the quick turnaround was certainly a discussion point at UFC 298, we don’t know how Alexander Volkanovski will rebound from back-to-back knockout losses.
Taking some serious time off was certainly the right call and it appears that the Aussie used this time to really decompress from the pressure of training and fighting.
In Diego Lopes, he faces an opponent who is certainly not lacking in self belief and that makes the Brazilian a dangerous opponent.
We have seen Volkanovski deal with aggressive and powerful individuals in the past but the big question this time around is whether he can do it at this point in his incredible career.
If he can shake off those losses and get back to the champion who stopped Yair Rodriguez in his final defense of the featherweight title, he’ll certainly be the favorite come April 12.