Alexander Volkanovski reveals mid-fight trash talk details against Islam Makhachev at UFC 284
Alexander Volkanovski suffered a unanimous decision loss to Islam Makhachev at UFC 284. During the fight, both combatants were seen exchanging a few words, among other things. The featherweight champion has now revealed what was said between him and his opponent during the fight.
Speaking to the media in his post-fight press conference, 'The Great' stated:
"When you're in positions like that - I'm not being a d**k, I'm not being disrespectful - but it's get in his head. Even when he had me, I'm like going, 'well, you're not that strong'. I'll say stuff like that then he's there, I'm going, 'you're just hanging on'. I'll go, 'you said 15 seconds, you're going to drag me to deep waters'. That type stuff. I remember that stuff as I go. He was hanging on for dear life."
Alexander Volkanovski continued:
"Again, I'm not being disrespectful. He's still in a good position so it's up to me to get out of it, but I'm going to get in his head and just kept punching him in the head. I guess a body lock is a dominant position so the refs kind of just leaves him there even though he was just hanging on and trying to hide his head."
While Volkanovski was attempting to get into his opponents' heads, it did not work, as Islam Makhachev was still able to emerge victorious and retain the lightweight title.
Watch Alexander Volkanovski's comments on the mid-fight trash talk below (starting at the 4:07 mark):
Alexander Volkanovski was not impressed with Islam Makhachev's strength at UFC 284
Leading up to UFC 284, there was a lot of talk stating that Alexander Volkanovski would not be able to handle Islam Makhachev's strength. Following the fight, the featherweight champion revealed that he was not impressed with his opponent's strength:
"There was positions where I was like he's not strong. I even said to my corner, you'll probably hear it, I'm like, 'oh, he's not strong'. I'm not being a d**k. 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'. I didn't capitalize on it straight away which I should have."
Volkanovski later took to Twitter claiming that he had re-watched the fight and felt that he was the rightful winner, despite all three judges scoring the bout in favor of Makhachev. The featherweight champion noted that he is definitely looking for a rematch if the promotion decides to make it happen.
Watch Alexander Volkanovski's comments on Islam Makhachev below (starting at the 1:11 mark):