“Want everyone to know I’m all good,” Alexander Volkanovski promises fans to be better than ever following HEARTBREAKING loss against Islam Makhachev

Alexander Volkanovski talks about his current mental head space after revealing his mental health struggles following his loss at UFC 294.

“Want everyone to know I’m all good,” Alexander Volkanovski promises fans to be better than ever following HEARTBREAKING loss against Islam Makhachev

A look back on Alexander Volkanovski's reign as the featherweight champion (Via: Twitter)

Alexander Volkanovski returns to action in February 2024. He defends his featherweight gold against Ilia Topuria. The title defense against the undefeated challenger marks his sixth defense overall. Volkanovski lost two of his last three bouts, with two skids coming from lightweight champion Islam Makhachev.

Volkanovski, the 145lber, had long aspired at two-division glory. Moving up a weight, he failed to defeat the pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev. Losing in the way of a brutal head kick, Volk broke down at the UFC 294 post-fight presser. Volk talked about his mental struggles during his time away from the sport. Recently, speaking to Ariel Helwani, he said:

Everyone gets uneasy some time in their life… I want everyone to know I’m all good. Now everyone gets to see the bounce back...
Alexander Volkanovski via The MMA Hour
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Volkanovski’s rematch with Makhachev was a short-notice bout. Charles Oliveira was set to face Makhachev for a rematch of his own. But the fighter had to pull out due to incurring a cut above his eye while training. Volkanovski was brought on as a replacement in just about eleven days. The featherweight champion proceeded to fight without a full camp. Following the loss, he aims to return to the winning ways against the new challenger.

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His new opponent, Ilia Topuria, holds a 6-0 record in the promotion, with five wins in the featherweight division. He has proved himself a worthy contender with wins over Bryce Mitchell and Josh Emmett. Only time will tell if Topuria becomes the first fighter to defeat Volk in the featherweight division.

Alexander Volkanovski weighs in on post-UFC 294 breakdown

Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski lost to Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. The featherweight champion was knocked out, thus ending his dreams of two-division glory. Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Volkanovski had broken down about being in a tough spot mentally.

Alexander Volkanovski opens up about breakdown, after loss to Islam Makhachev
Alexander Volkanovski opens up about breakdown after loss to Islam Makhachev (Source: Twitter)

Speaking on the “Who The Fook Are Those Guys” podcast as of late, Volk delved into his decision to accept the short-notice bout. Volk talked about the positive side of breaking down after the loss. Check out what he said about it in the tweet below:

The fighter also mentioned that he felt it was not weak to speak out under any circumstances. He went on to say that he is glad that people saw him vulnerable and that he would aim to return stronger and more in control. Volkanovksi aims to defeat Topuria at UFC 298 to silence the critics.

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