Alexander Volkanovski gets brutally honest about fighters who could beat him, names one UFC star who's a "tough fight for five rounds"
Alexander Volkanovski has expressed confidence in his ability and opened up about fighters who may pose a threat to him. In addition, Volkanovski disclosed the name of a fighter that caused him the most trouble inside the octagon.
Volkanovski is set to make his UFC return in the main event of UFC 314, where he will face Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight title. The PPV event will take place on April 12 at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida.
During an interview with MAIN EVENT ahead of the title fight, the former champion asserted that no fighter in the roster can defeat him except Islam Makhachev, saying:
''I don’t believe anyone can beat me. The only person I can see giving me a tough fight for five rounds is Islam Makhachev, in the first one as you've seen. Everyone else has just got a punchers chance. And I truly believe that, that's a confidence I have in myself. No one can beat me, they can catch me.''
Volkanovski then discussed Lopes' chances against him, saying:
''So I think he [Lopes] needs to be reckless to beat me. If he tries to fight the perfect fight, it's not gonna work. He needs to be reckless and catch me, that's his best chance.''
Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (7:23):
Volkanovski failed twice in his lightweight title bid against Makhachev. In their first encounter at UFC 284, 'The Great' put on an impressive performance, however suffered a unanimous decision loss, which became a subject of discussion among the MMA fans. Their rematch at UFC 294 was totally different from the first fight, as the 36-year-old faced a devastating first-round knockout loss.
Volkanovski returned to defend his 145-pound belt against Ilia Topuria at UFC 298 last year, but was knocked out in the second round.
Alexander Volkanovski believes Ilia Topuria can defeat Islam Makhachev
Having fought both inside the octagon, Alexander Volkanovski expressed his thoughts on the potential Islam Makhachev vs. Ilia Topuria matchup.
In an episode of BELIEVE YOU ME Podcast, Volkanovski spoke to Michael Bisping and stated that given his striking prowess, Topuria has the ability to dethrone Makhachev.
''If anyone could do it, it is Ilia...Ilia's obviously got some dangerous hands, so for people to just count him out... You know he's got power in his hands, you know he's going to be looking for it...You don't want to be getting caught by any of those punches, so if anyone can catch him, I think Ilia's right up there for a chance."
Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (1:44:50):