Alexander Volkanovski is relishing underdog status ahead of Islam Makhachev clash
Alexander Volkanovski will make a bid to capture Islam Makhachev's lightweight throne at UFC 284 in February 2023 in front of his home crowd in Perth. Despite his legendary run as the featherweight champion, the Australian is a sizeable underdog going into his clash against Makhachev.
However, Volkanovski is relishing the underdog status and hopes that people continue to doubt him leading up to the fight. 'The Great' will have the added motivation to prove people wrong. The UFC P4P king told Laura Sanko during an interview at UFC 281:
"I'm hoping people doubt me. 'Cause I love being the underdog. I'm sure I'm gonna be the underdog. Well, again, I hope. I can't wait to go out there and prove people wrong. Cause that just really fires me up."
Watch Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (6:00):
Volkanovski has mounted four successful featherweight title defenses in his undefeated UFC career. However, 'The Great' opened as a +255 underdog against Makhachev's -305 favorite status.
However, the odds can be justified by citing Makhachev's dominant title win over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280, which topped off an 11-fight unbeaten run. The UFC 284 fight card will also feature an interim featherweight title clash between Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett.
Alexander Volkanovski believes Islam Makhachev is in for a shock at UFC 284
Being the backup fighter for the main event, Alexander Volkanovski was present when Islam Makhachev dethroned Charles Oliveira at UFC 280. Makhachev immediately invited 'The Great' to the stage, addressing him as "a short guy," to set up a double champ clash.
Alexander Volkanovski believes that the Dagestani might be underestimating his strength owing to the difference in their height and size. However, 'The Great' has promised that Makhachev will be in for a shock if that is the case.
The Australian is also confident in his ability to regain footing even if he gets taken down by the lightweight champion. The 33-year-old said during a recent appearance on Submission Radio:
“I feel like he’s sort of underestimating me in a sense. Where I’m just a featherweight, a small featherweight, how am I going to be able to handle his strength? You know what I mean? That’s how he’s looking at it, which is going to be a shock when we are in that octagon... When he tries to grab a hold of me, realizes, ‘Oh sh*t, this short guy isn’t as weak as I thought’ [and] struggles to get me down. Or even if he does get me down, I get straight back up."
Watch Volkanovski's comments below (7:25):