"I literally thought of my family" - Alexander Volkanovski reveals how he found the strength to escape Brian Ortega's nasty guillotine choke at UFC 266

Alexander Volkanovski (left) and Brian Ortega (right) [Image Credit: @alexvolkanovski & @briantcity via Instagram]

Alexander Volkanovski recently revealed how he found the strength to escape Brian Ortega's nasty guillotine choke at UFC 266.

While talking to BT Sport about the submission attempt, Volkanovski said:

"So what do I do? Do I give up? Do I accept defeat? No, that's not the way I'm gonna go. So I'm gonna keep doing what was working at the time, I'm gonna keep doing that especially when I had a moment. There was a moment it was very special to me, I thought of my family in the darkest time when the lights were dimming out, like 'Oh no, this is tight. I need to do something quick cause this belt might not be going back to the family if I don't.' I literally thought of my family at that moment, it's a place where you don't wanna be. I found strength thinking of the family, thinking of Australia, bringing that belt back home and what not... it's one of the deepest guillotines I've ever been in."

Watch Alexander Volkanovski's interview with BT Sport below:

"The lights were dimming.." 😴

"I found strength in thinking of my family."

Fascinating listening to @AlexVolkanovski explain what was going through his mind as he fought off Ortega's guillotine at UFC 266.

So matter of fact about an epic moment 😅

🎥 Alexander Volkanovski https://t.co/lTIo3WN8Cn

Alexander Volkanovski successfully defended his featherweight title for the second time at UFC 266. He defeated Brian Ortega via unanimous decision in the main event.

'The Great' outworked Ortega through his impeccable striking skills, cardio, distance control and ground-and-pound. 'T-City' looked exhausted in the final rounds and wasn't able to keep up with the pace the Australian was setting.

Brian Ortega revealed the injuries he sustained at UFC 266

Brian Ortega took to Instagram to reveal that he fractured his orbital bone during his five-round thriller with Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 266. 'T-City' was also diagnosed with bruised ribs and was left with several cuts to his face.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Brian Ortega (@briantcity)

Volkanovski and Ortega had a back-and-forth war on September 25. In their Fight of the Year contender, it was evident that Ortega got the worst of the exchanges as his face was noticeably battered, with both of his eyes practically shut during his post-fight interview.

'T-City' absorbed a total of 214 significant strikes throughout the 25 minutes of action. UFC president Dana White was so worried that he instructed Brian Ortega's team to take him to the hospital immediately after he left the octagon.