Alexander Volkanovski narrates hilarious experience bringing in a Sambo training partner
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is scheduled to face recently crowned lightweight kingpin Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia, for the 155-pound title.
In a recent episode of Michael Bisping's Believe You Me podcast, 'The Great' touched on a hilarious training camp story about how he put a rather disrespectful Sambo practitioner in his place.
Place your bets for the upcoming UFC fight night main card and earn $$$
The 34-year-old said that he quickly made the "Sambo guy" realize that they didn't "need" anything:
"We ended up bringing a Sambo guy... He wasn't the most respectful in the conversations... So when we bring him in, we bring him in [to] sort of teach him a lesson... I'm not usually like that. He thought like that, 'Oh, you're going to need this, need that,' and then I showed him real quickly that we didn't need nothing... I'm not usually like that in training, but I mean, I had to prove a bit of a point."
'The Great' added that a couple of his teammates, including jiu-jitsu extraordinaire Craig Jones, also took the opportunity to show the disrespectful athlete that "they don't really need him":
"It wasn't just me. I didn't want just me to just prove a point I even got some of my [teammates], I've got guys that are like 21-year-old... and we had Craig Jones that day... and we all showed him like do we really need you mate?"
Watch Alexander Volkanovski talk about the hilarious incident below:
Alexander Volkanovski vs. Islam Makhachev: Who is the favorite for UFC 284?
According to the live betting odds on DraftKings Sportsbook, lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is currently the -315 favorite against the +260 underdog Alexander Volkanovski for their UFC 284 showdown next February.
'The Great' is undefeated in the UFC and holds an impressive pro record of 25-1. The 34-year-old boasts victories over several high-profile athletes, including former featherweight champion Max Holloway, former title challenger Brian Ortega, and promotional legend Jose Aldo, among others.
Khabib Nurmagomedov's protege Makhachev also holds an impressive MMA record of 23-1. The Dagestani defeated well-rounded former champ Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 to win the 155-pound title.
The former Combat Sambo world champion has registered wins against many top lightweights, including Dan Hooker, Arman Tsarukyan, and Drew Dober.
Thanks for the request, @jonathaniboa!
Here is your #UFC Matchup Comparison for:
Islam Makhachev vs Alexander Volkanovski
Follow @NateLatshaw for more #MMA insights via stats, figures, & more!
#RequestFulfilled https://t.co/toooz7CdCi