Dominant UFC champion names his toughest weight cut to date
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski has never lost once inside the octagon and has shown exemplary dominance in his performances. He recently recalled the toughest weight cut of his career through 26 professional mixed martial arts fights.
Volkanovski spoke to The AllStar in an interview and named his weight cut for the second Max Holloway fight at UFC 251 as his toughest:
"Toughest weight cut? Probably Fight Island [UFC 251]. Fight Island was a short camp, and you know, a big weight cut... But I mean, doing it in title fights, short camps, and being heavy started not having enough time to get that weight lower and all that type of stuff, you know you're - you shouldn't be doing that in title fights. But again, I have had bigger weight cuts earlier in my career." [14:05-14:52]
The featherweight champion, however, maintained that he had had bigger weight cuts in his career, having fought as heavy as welterweight and lightweight before making the move down to featherweight.
Fun fact, he used to be upwards of 210 lbs in his rugby days.
Alexander Volkanovski outlines strategy to knock out Islam Makhachev at UFC 284
Alexander Volkanovski will face Islam Makhachev at UFC 284 in the latter's first lightweight championship defense. Since he'll be moving up in weight, it will be a relatively easy weight cut for the featherweight champion, which should give a real boost to his cardio and durability.
Volkanovski is billed as the underdog, with Makhachev's significant size advantage and wrestling prowess being cited as key factors in the matchup.
However, 'Volk' mentioned in the aforementioned interview that he'll take risks to try and land a knockout strike:
"I feel like I'm gonna catch him [Makhachev]. I know I want to capitalize on the feet... Usually, when I'm fighting other guys, I know their chances are more likely to be a puncher's chance... So I've got more of a safety net on the feet, can't take (too many risks)... I will take some risks... But I still have a bit of a safety net around it. With this one, I will have a safety net, but I need to capitalize on the feet... I don't want to let the rounds get taken away from me. That's why I feel like I'm going to get the finish." [21:50]
Check out Alexander Volkanovski's complete interview on YouTube: