Alexander Volkanovski believes Islam Makhachev calling him "short guy" will backfire when they fight

Alexander Volkanovski feels that Islam Makhachev is vastly underestimating him ahead of their potential clash at UFC 284 in Perth, Australia.

Following his championship win at UFC 280, Makhachev made it clear that he's targeting a matchup with the pound-for-pound (P4P) king. In his post-fight interview, Makhachev referred to Volkanovski as "short guy" before the featherweight champion walked into the octagon for a face-off.

Volkanovski enters the Octagon to accept Makhachev's challenge for the lightweight title 👀 #UFC280 https://t.co/VyNdFDLbgc

Makhachev's comments have led Volkanovski to believe that the Dagestani thinks little of his abilities. But as far as the Australian fighter is concerned, Makhachev's mentality could backfire on him. During an interview with Submission Radio, 'The Great' said:

"It's funny, I feel like he's underestimating me in a sense where I'm just a featherweight, a small featherweight. How am I gonna be able to handle his strength? You know what I mean? That's how he's looking at it. Which is gonna be a shock when we face off... When we are in that octagon all week he might be looking at me, thinking I'm small and all that type of stuff."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's interview below:

Volkanovski is confident that he'll be able to negate Makhachev's inherent advantages. According to the 34-year-old, the more interesting question is how will Makhachev react when he can't impose his will:

"But as soon as I'm in front of him, getting him uncomfortable on the feet, making him wanna shoot desperately for a takedown because he's uncomfortable. Then when he tries to grab a hold of me, realizes, 'Oh sh*t! This man isn't as weak as I thought,' struggles to get me down, or even when he does get me down and I start getting back up... Mentally, he's breaking. This stuff is gonna get to him because this is not what he's expecting."

Alexander Volkanovski explains why Islam Makhachev will struggle to take him down

There was a noticeable size difference between Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski when they faced off inside the octagon.

But according to Volkanovski, his perceived size disadvantage may not necessarily be a bad thing against Makhachev. During the UFC 280 post-fight presser, Volkanovski explained that having a stock frame and short legs makes him harder to take down than some of Makhachev's previous opponents.

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's interview below:

Volkanovski added that his short legs will allow him to stand right back up with more ease. All things considered, Volkanovski is adamant that Makhachev will be in for a surprise when they lock horns in the octagon.