Watch: Petr Yan tries to wrestle Alexander Volkanovski at the hotel in Abu Dhabi ahead of UFC 280
Petr Yan recently engaged in a lighthearted wrestling exchange with Alexander Volkanovski at the UFC fighter hotel in Abu Dhabi. Yan is a former UFC bantamweight champion and the No. 1-ranked UFC bantamweight. He is set to fight fan-favorite Sean O'Malley this weekend in a three-round bout.
Meanwhile, reigning featherweight champion Volkanovski is the backup/replacement fighter for the UFC 280 main event. Former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira is booked to face Islam Makhachev in a five-round bout in the headliner.
If either Oliveira or Makhachev withdraws from the fight due to injury or any other reason, Volkanovski could step in and compete for the title. Furthermore, if the Oliveira-Makhachev matchup goes ahead as planned, its winner will likely defend the lightweight title against 'Volk'.
Watch Alexander Volkanovski's interview with BT Sport:
Ahead of UFC 280, Yan and Volkanovski arrived in Abu Dhabi and ran into each other at the UFC fighter hotel. 'No Mercy' is no stranger to Alexander Volkanovski.
They've often trained together at the world-renowned Tiger Muay Thai gym in Thailand. Yan greeted 'The Great' at the fighter hotel and proceeded to jestingly wrestle him. 'Volk' later posted a video of their hilarious exchange on his YouTube channel.
Watch Yan try to wrestle Volkanovski in the video below:
Alexander Volkanovski on the UFC 280 fight between Petr Yan and Sean O'Malley
In a recent video posted to his YouTube channel, Alexander Volkanovski broke down the much-awaited bantamweight matchup between Petr Yan and 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley. Volkanovski picked Yan to beat O'Malley. Nevertheless, he acknowledged that Yan tends to start slow and give away the early rounds in his fights, which could cost him against 'Sugar'.
The UFC featherweight kingpin insinuated the bout being only three-round long could benefit O'Malley, as Yan is more dangerous in five-round fights.
Moreover, he suggested that Petr Yan ought to get after Sean O'Malley right from the get-go:
"I really don't think he [Yan] needs to even really feel out fighters, that's how good Petr Yan is, but we've seen that he likes to feel them out. I think that would be a bad idea to do this with Sean O'Malley. Don't give him [O'Malley] room, don't just walk forward because he [O'Malley] will try to fight on the back foot."
Watch Volkanovski discuss the topic at 2:13 in the video below: