Alexander Volkanovski's backstage reaction to Israel Adesanya's loss at the hands of "dangerous motherf***er" Alex Pereira
Alexander Volkanovski still believes Israel Adesanya is a better fighter than Alex Pereira and is confident his City Kickboxing (CKB) teammate will avenge his losses to the Brazilian in a potential rematch.
At UFC 281, Pereira became the new middleweight champion by beating Adesanya via TKO in the fifth round. This was the third time the Brazilian has emerged victorious over Adesanya. The two previous occasions were in the sport of kickboxing. 'Poatan' also remains the only man to ever knockout the Nigerian-born Kiwi.
Volkanovski recently posted a video on his YouTube channel and shared his thoughts on the main event of UFC 281. 'The Great' said:
"I know Izzy will be back. I'm sure he'll get that rematch... I'll be very confident in that fight... From what I've seen, I still believe Izzy's the better fighter. I guess you just got to be careful with Pereira, I guess Pereira is just one dangerous mother*****r. So, respect to him. Nothing but love for Izzy."
Watch Alexander Volkanovski's full video below:
While there is no official confirmation yet, Israel Adesanya is expected to get his rematch against his old kickboxing nemesis soon. Meanwhile, Alexander Volkanovski is gearing up to face Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in a super-fight for the lightweight title.
Israel Adesanya is confident Alexander Volkanovski will triumph over Islam Makhachev at UFC 284
Israel Adesanya calls Alexander Volkanovski "crafty" and claims that Islam Makhachev will find it hard to keep 'The Great' down. Volkanovski is set to face Makhachev at UFC 284 in Perth in February next year.
Appearing on an episode of the Flagrant podcast with Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh, 'The Last Stylebender' shared his thoughts on the highly anticipated matchup between the Australian and the Dagestani.
"With Volk, I’ve tried to hold him down. I’m not the greatest wrestler, but even with my frame and my leverage, it’s hard to hold him down. He finds his way back up – a crafty veteran. His inside leg kick, his jabs, his hand control, all that sh*t."
Israel Adesanya continued:
"I could bet my whole house on him. Volk is just different. Volk is just the kind of guy... Even when he cuts weight, the amount he cuts, for him to have the cardio he has in the later rounds, it’s mind-blowing. The man’s different.”
Watch the full Flagrant episode with Israel Adesanya below:
Makhachev and Volkanovski are both coming off wins. The Dagestan native beat Charles Oliveira via second-round submission to capture the lightweight title at UFC 280. Volkanovski beat Max Holloway via unanimous decision in their trilogy bout at UFC 276.