“Their face changes real quick” – Alexander Volkanovski vows to show Islam Makhachev “what short people can do” in potential super fight
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Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev at UFC 280 post-fight octagon interview
Alexander Volkanovski is determined to show Islam Makhachev his true skills after the “short guy” comment from the Dagestani. Volkanovski hits very hard for someone who is just a “short guy”.
UFC 280 had one of the best post-fight octagon interviews in the history of the promotion. Alexander Volkanovski, the pound-for-pound champion planted the seed for his “double champ” title fight against Islam Makhachev after the Dagestani became the newly crowned lightweight king.
Makhachev said he wants to take on “short guy” Volkanovski in Australia and snatch the pound-for-pound status from him. Makhachev kept on referring to the featherweight champion as the “short guy” and Alexander Volkanovski plans on showing the Dagestani what a short guy like him can do inside the octagon.
“Everyone thinks I’m short. I’m punching them in the face and the next minute their face changes real quick,” said Alexander in the UFC 280 post-fight scrum. “That’s not an insult. I’m short, but I’m the champ, I’m doing good, I’m going to keep this win streak going and I’m going to show him [Makhachev] what short people can do,” added Volkanovski.
Alexander Volkanovski was surprised by Islam Makhachev’s striking against Charles Oliveira
The featherweight champ was all prepared when he flew all the way to Abu Dhabi to be the backup fighter for UFC 280 main event. Volkanovski was going to take his chance to fight for the lightweight title by any means necessary. Before heading to Abu Dhabi, Volkanovski did some groundwork on how he would tackle either Islam Makhachev or Charles Oliveira.
Also read: Shocking! Khabib Nurmagomedov spent nearly $1 million on Islam Makhachev’s training camp for UFC 280
Volkanovski was one of the few professional UFC fighters who picked Makhachev to win the lightweight belt against Oliveira. However, he did not see Makhachev winning the fight by outstriking his opponent at UFC 280. “I was leaning towards Islam. I thought maybe he would get in three, or four rounds and maybe land a submission. He was landing on the feet, which surprised me a little bit,” said Volkanovski in the post-fight scrum.
After winning the lightweight belt, Islam and Khabib Nurmagomedov called for a fight against the P4P king Alexander Volkanovski in the upcoming Perth card that the UFC is putting together. This fight is undoubtedly an exciting matchup given what is at stake for both fighters. Volkanovski is fully down to fight Makhachev and try to get his double champ status.
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Prateek Athanur
(2974 Articles Published)