Islam Makhachev gives two-word reaction to Alexander Volkanovski reclaiming the UFC featherweight throne
Islam Makhachev has shared his reaction to Alexander Volkanovski's UFC featherweight title victory over Diego Lopes at UFC 314. Makhachev himself is no stranger to Volkanovski, having fought him twice inside the octagon. The Dagestani combatant took to social media to express his respect for Volkanovski.
Volkanovski suffered a few setbacks in his professional MMA career in recent years. Back in February 2023, then-UFC featherweight champion Volkanovski faced then-UFC lightweight champion Makhachev for the lightweight belt. The Australian ended up losing a razor-thin unanimous decision to Makhachev.
Their rematch saw Volkanovski replace an injured Charles Oliveira and take on Makhachev for the lightweight title on extremely short notice in October 2023. The fight ended with Makhachev dominantly defeating Volkanovski via first-round KO. Volkanovski subsequently lost his featherweight title via second-round knockout against Ilia Topuria in February 2024.
Well, Topuria recently vacated his featherweight title for a move up to the lightweight division. The UFC booked Alexander Volkanovski to face Diego Lopes for the vacant featherweight belt at UFC 314. Their grueling fight went the five-round distance, with Volkanovski ultimately defeating Lopes via unanimous decision and reclaiming the featherweight title.
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev posted an image of Volkanovski with his featherweight championship belt on his Instagram story. Expressing his respect for his former opponent, Makhachev wrote:
"Congrats legend"
Check out a screenshot of Makhachev's Instagram story below:
Alexander Volkanovski on his title win against Diego Lopes at UFC 314
During his UFC 314 post-fight press conference, newly-crowned UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski seemed to suggest that he exercised caution in the wake of his back-to-back stoppage defeats.
Underscoring that he's his own hardest critic, the 36-year-old opined that he'll watch the UFC 314 fight back and break it down. Explaining that he didn't pull the trigger as much as he'd have liked to, 'The Great' said:
"While I was in there, I feel like he was there to be hit. I mean, I could have done a lot more. I could have done more. But I just wouldn't pull the trigger as much as I like even though there was shots where I could just stick out a jab and it was right there."
Furthermore, Volkanovski signaled that he's willing to take on any challenger. Presently, the UFC has yet to officially announce who'll challenge the Australian MMA legend for the title next.
Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments below (1:36):