“His team very bad,” Islam Makhachev criticizes Alexander Volkanovski’s gym for bad advice over Ilia Topuria fight

Islam Makhachev has defended his lightweight title against Alexander Volkanovski twice.

“His team very bad,” Islam Makhachev criticizes Alexander Volkanovski’s gym for bad advice over Ilia Topuria fight

Islam Makhachev blames Alexander Volkanovski's team for his title loss (Image via Imago)

Islam Makhachev is not happy with Alexander Volkanovski‘s team. As such, Makhachev gave his opinion on Volkanovski’s team and his loss against Ilia Topuria. Makhachev faced Volkanovski twice before the latter’s devastating loss against Topuria, making it 3 consecutive losses for the former champion. Here is what happened:

Islam Makhachev recently did an interview with MMA Junkie. There he talked about Alexander Volkanovski’s involvement in his loss at UFC 298. As such, the Dagestani outright blamed the Aussie’s team for his loss. 

Of course. Alex is a good fighter, he is a warrior, everybody knows. He can fight everyday. But I always said that his team is very bad, because this mistake is not Alex's mistake. It is a mistake the team made. Because the team has to sit with him and tell him, 'Hey, it's too soon.
Islam Makhachev via MMA Junkie
YouTube video

Makhachev acknowledged that the way Volkanovski got knocked out was tough. According to him, he should have taken a minimum of 3 to 4 months to rest up and heal. He was adamant that Volkanovski and his team jumped the gun on his return to the octagon, thus resulting in another knockout loss.

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Alexander Volkanovski lost his UFC featherweight title to Ilia Topuria at UFC 298. Topuria landed a perfect right hand and knocked Volkanovski down in the second round. Topuria then finished Volkanovski on the ground and scored another win on his already undefeated record. Meanwhile, the loss ended Volkanovski’s title reign in the featherweight division.

The role Islam Makhachev played in Alexander Volkanovski’s loss at UFC 298

Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev have fought a total of two times. The first was in February 2023 at UFC 284 and the second was in October at UFC 294. In the first fight, Makhachev won unanimously. They fought an intense fight at the RAC Arena at Volkanovski’s home ground.

Islam Makhachev’s headkick against Alexander Volkanovski (Image via X)

In the second fight, Makhachev knocked out Volkanovski in the first round, defending his lightweight title yet again. Makhachev landed a brutal head kick three minutes into the first round, that was enough to put down Volkanovski. He had moved up the weight class to challenge Makhachev’s lightweight title.

So maybe Makhachev was right. Volkanovski should not have taken up a title fight against an undefeated striker like Topuria just four months after being knocked in the head. He even admitted that he said he did not understand what he was feeling because he had never been concussed before. Volkanovski had also said that the kick “messed with his head” and that he experienced serious problems for weeks after the fight.

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