Alexander Volkanovski reveals why he is training against high-level wrestlers while fatigued ahead of Islam Makhachev fight
UFC pound-for-pound No.1 Alexander Volkanovski will try to claim Islam Makhachev's lightweight title at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia. Many in the MMA community believe that 'The Great' will have a hard time dealing with the Dagestani's wrestling.
Henry Cejudo on Islam Makhachev vs Alex Volkanovski: “There’s nothing Alex can do because of what the sport of wrestling has taught Islam.” @HenryCejudo shares his experience competing in Dagestan & adds “I just think it’s going to be easy work for Islam.” youtu.be/BanVPJQmsTo https://t.co/k0nvp23Yoe
During a recent interview with Michael Bisping, the Australian revealed that he's wrestling with physically larger high-level opponents while being fatigued in an effort to deal with the Dagestani's grappling come fight night.
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The 34-year-old acknowledged that the techniques Dagestani wrestlers employ are very different from the average jiu-jitsu practitioner:
"We are obviously breaking down a lot of movements... [and] techniques they like to do and the way they go about their control, which is usually a little bit different to your normal jiu-jitsu guys... We are figuring out why... Again having the right people around you, the right people that want to figure things out like that, and then having guys that are very high level... a lot bigger than me putting me in these positions and even while I'm fatigued [is helping me prepare]."
Volkanovski added that even when he is fully fatigued, he is still very hard to hold down on the ground:
"I'm doing workouts where they are getting me really fatigued and then putting me in these really bad positions... Getting me fully fatigued and then still working out and I'm still hard to hold down, that's what people really don't understand."
Watch Alexander Volkanovski talk about wrestling training below:
Israel Adesanya picks Alexander Volkanovski over Islam Makhachev
In his recent appearance on the FLAGRANT podcast, former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya picked the "crafty" Alexander Volkanovski to have the upper hand against Islam Makhachev at UFC 284.
Apparently, even 'The Last Stylebender' has a hard time holding down 'The Great' during training. The Nigerian-New Zealander stated that the featherweight champion is very strong thanks to his rugby career:
"Okay Volk used to be a fat guy. Like big boy brawly, played rugby. And the thing is, when you walk around with that kind of body mass for years, you develop a different kind of muscle density... I've tried to hold him down... even with my frame and my leverage it's hard to hold him down. He finds a way back up. [He is] crafty... Islam is great... These Dagi [Dagestani] boys know what they're doing. They have their own pedigree and they are great... But honestly, I could get my whole house on it [that Alexander Volkanovski wins]... Volk is just different bro. "
Watch Israel Adesanya talk about Alexander Volkanovski below: