Alexander Volkanovski reveals what pushed him through fire at UFC 314
Alexander Volkanovski squared off against Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight title at UFC 314. He delivered a great performance and secured a unanimous decision victory to reclaim the 145-pound belt. The 36-year-old has now revealed what fueled him to overcome all the challenges.
Volkanovski entered the fight on a two-fight losing skid, sustaining knockout defeats against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 and Ilia Topuria at UFC 298, where he also lost the featherweight title.
Ahead of the fight, analysts and fans dismissed Volkanovski’s chances of defeating Lopes, pointing to his recent knockout losses and age.
During the UFC 314 post-fight press conference, Volkanovski revealed that before the fight, he made a promise to his daughters to bring the belt back wanting to show them what it means to rise in the face of adversity when everyone counts you out. ‘The Great’ said:
"Today, while I was walking around, I promised my girls I'll bring the belt back. And then I'm like, it's not about bringing the belt back, like I even said it in the I’ll go but it's not about bringing the belt back. It's about overcoming, it's adversity.”
He continued:
“You know these two losses, the break I had, you know a lot of people are going to think I'm done You're 36 years old. That is more important… you know me showing my kids what you could be capable of when people are counting you out."
Check out Alexander Volkanovski’s comments below (via @MMAFighting on X):
Islam Makhachev praises Alexander Volkanovski following his title win at UFC 314
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, who has faced Alexander Volkanovski twice, reacted to the Australia's victory over Diego Lopes at UFC 314.
Makhachev praised Volkanovski on X, writing:
“Congrats @alexvolkanovski great comeback! Real champ in sport and life 🏆.”
Check out Islam Makhachev's X post below:
Makhachev faced Volkanovski for the first time at UFC 284 for the lightweight title. In a hard-fought battle, the Australian lost via unanimous decision. In their second encounter at UFC 294, the reigning featherweight champion suffered a knockout loss.