CKB's Shane Young predicts how Alexander Volkanovski's "intangible skills" will break Islam Makhachev (Exclusive)
Shane Young is confident that his City Kickboxing (CKB) teammate Alexander Volkanovski will emerge victorious against Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 this weekend. 'Smokin' recently claimed that Volkanovski will tap into his superior willpower to keep moving forward and overwhelm his opponent.
Volkanovski is aiming to become only the fifth simultaneous two-division champion in UFC history when he faces lightweight king Makhachev for the 155-lbs strap and the pound-for-pound No.1 spot on February 12 in Perth.
While 'The Great' will go into the fight as the betting underdog, Shane Young believes none of that will matter when the cage door shuts. Considering the 29-year-old Kiwi made his UFC debut against Volkanovski in 2017, he certainly knows a thing or two about his strengths.
In an exclusive interview with Andrew Whitelaw of Sportskeeda MMA, Young reiterated his faith in Alexander Volkanovski's willpower to overcome any challenge put forward by Islam Makhachev:
"I believe it's really going to be a classic and I believe it's going to be the true coming out party for Volkanovski... He's got so many intangible skills like his spirit and his heart, that he's never had to show... When it comes down to it, he's going to show a lot of spirit...Will-for-will I believe it's going to break Islam."
Watch the full interview below:
Shane Young predicts the Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira rematch
In the same interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Shane Young also discussed the rematch between Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira, which has been booked for UFC 287 in April. The two middleweights will go head-to-head for the fourth time in their combat sports careers, with 'Poatan' winning all three of their previous fights across MMA and kickboxing.
In their last outing at UFC 281, Pereira emerged victorious against Adesanya via a fifth-round knockout. The Brazilian became the new UFC middleweight champion after just four fights in the promotion and remains the only fighter to ever secure a knockout against 'The Last Stylebender'.
However, Shane Young believes the fourth time's the charm for his CKB teammate and recently told Sportskeeda MMA that he predicts a victory for Adesanya. When asked for his thoughts on the matchup, the lightweight contender said:
"I think it goes a lot better for 'Izzy'. I think he shows some more parts of his game that he didn't show in his previous fights... I think 'Izzy' comes away with a knockout in the fourth."
Meanwhile, Shane Young is booked to face promotional debutant Blake Bilder in a featherweight contest at UFC 284. Young’s UFC record currently stands at 2-3.