Alexander Volkanovski gets brutally honest about mental hurdles and evolution ahead of comeback fight against Diego Lopes
In UFC's recent countdown video, Alexander Volkanovski shared his thoughts on his mindset and preparation ahead of his featherweight title fight against Diego Lopes at UFC 314.
The 36-year-old has not returned to the octagon since UFC 298 back in Feburary 2024, when he suffered a brutal second-round knockout loss against Ilia Topuria.
In the video, Volkanovski shared that during his time off, he ended up questioning whether he can get back to his old best as he is "not getting any younger". He said:
"While I had that break, there [were] questions. I was being like - Am I going to be able to be that same guy? You're not getting any younger. And I did ask them, but I was able to answer them and I was able to evolve so much as me. I just haven't really done that."
Alexander Volkanovski also stated that he has shifted his complete focus to his upcoming fight against Diego Lopes as he intends to prove to people that he has "still got it":
"Now I'm switching off my time and [I am] 100% committed to training. I want to prove to everyone that I still got it."
Volkanovski labeled his upcoming comeback fight as "massive" because everyone is seemingly counting him out:
"This comeback is going to be massive, everyone is counting me out, they have every right to. But I love proving people wrong. This is going to be [a] great story, can't wait to finish it."
Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below:
Josh Emmett predicts Alexander Volkanovski to win his belt back at UFC 314
Recently at the UFC Vegas 105 media day, featherweight contender Josh Emmett picked Alexander Volkanovski to win against Diego Lopes at UFC 314.
Emmett stated that he favors 'The Great' to get the job done due to his character and his past dominance as a long-reigning champion of the 145-pound division:
"I feel like just Volkanovski being who is and such a dominant champion like, I'm leaning towards him. I think Volkanovski gets that job done."
The 40-year-old also believes that the only path to victory for Lopes is to secure an early finish.
"I don't know like the way that Diego wins, obviously he's good everywhere, he's hungry. If he wins, I think he catches him early but the longer the fight goes I think it's heavily favored towards Volkanovski."
Check out Josh Emmett's comments below (11:40):