Alexander Volkanovski delivered a few home truths to Islam Makhachev during their encounter at UFC 284.
Volkanovski came up short in his quest to wrest the lightweight belt from Makhachev and become a UFC double champion. But the Australian put on one of the greatest losing performances in recent history as he took Islam to the brink.
No more was this the case than in the final round, where Volkanovski stuffed multiple takedowns, before knocking Makhachev down and dominating him from on top for much of the round.
But that late flurry wasn’t enough to tilt the judges his way, and at the UFC 284 post-fight press conference, the 32-year-old revealed a pang of regret for leaving it so late.
“I felt like maybe I could have done that earlier,” said Volkanovski. “It’s, like I said, it’s positions where I was like, ‘He’s strong.’ I even said it in my corner. You’ll probably hear it. I’m going, ‘He’s not strong.’ I’m not being a dick. I wasn’t being disrespectful. I was just like, ‘Oh, he’s not strong.’ But maybe he’s baiting me. Maybe he’s waiting for me to do something. So I didn’t capitalize on it straight away, which I should’ve. And I started realizing that later on. I was like, ‘Fuck.’”
Alexander Volkanovski Reveals His Exchange With Islam Makhachev
Throughout the fight, Volkanovski not only put on a strong performance but also dispensed regular commentary into Makhachev’s ears, particularly when the Russian was controlling the action on the mat in the fourth round. So, what exactly did the Australian say?
“Look again, when you’re in positions like that…I’m not being a dick; I’m not being disrespectful,” said Volkanovski. “It’s getting in his head, you know what I mean? Even when he had me, I was like going, ‘Well, you’re not that strong…’ I’ll go, ‘You said 15 seconds you’re gonna drag me to deep waters.’ That type of stuff. I remember that stuff. He was hanging on for dear life.’ Again, I’m not being disrespectful. He’s still in a good position. It’s up to him to get out of there.’
With Makhachev having in the lead up to the fight confidently declared that he would get the knockout, Volkanovski made sure to let the Russian know that he was struggling.
“I guess a body lock is a dominant position so the ref (just left him) there,” said Alexander. “He was just hanging on, trying to hide his head. So just letting him know (and) going, ‘Look at you, just trying to survive in certain positions. That’s what I was saying.”
While Volkanovski of course still remains as the featherweight champ, the loss snapped his 22-fight win streak and will likely see him relinquish his pound-for-pound status to Makhachev. The Russian is now himself unbeaten in 12 fights, having consolidated his lightweight title less than four months after defeating Charles Oliveira.
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