Alexander Volkanovski has laid out one of the main mistakes he made in his UFC 284 main event against Islam Makhachev.
Last night at UFC 284 in Perth, Volkanovski and Makhachev went to war. The two battled it out over the UFC lightweight championship in a scintillating main event down under.
When the final horn sounded, many weren’t sure who was going to come out on top on the scorecards. In the end, though, it was Makhachev who got the nod with a unanimous decision triumph.
Volkanovski, however, received a great deal of plaudits from the MMA community for the way in which he was able to stay in the fight and make it competitive. During the post-fight press conference, he spoke about where he could’ve improved even further.
Volkanovski says that he always felt that he would win the fight, so he doesn’t hold the decision against anyone but himself and felt that he could have done more.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 12, 2023
Volkanovski feels that he should have capitalized earlier and told his corner that he didn’t feel that Islam was that strong, and he means that respectfully. He felt that Islam may have been trying to bait him by not operating at full strength.
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) February 12, 2023
“Volkanovski says that he always felt that he would win the fight, so he doesn’t hold the decision against anyone but himself and felt that he could have done more.”
“Volkanovski feels that he should have capitalized earlier. He told his corner that he didn’t feel that Islam was that strong, and he means that respectfully. He felt that Islam may have been trying to bait him by not operating at full strength.”
‘The Great’ falls short
“Volkanovski says that he heard whispers that Islam told his corner that he wanted a rematch before the decision was read because he felt he may have lost.”
Some will be disappointed that Volkanovski wasn’t able to get his hand raised tonight. Alas, something tells us this may not be the last we’ve seen of him at lightweight.
Do you agree with this assessment from Alexander Volkanovski? If he was to have a rematch with Islam Makhachev, would you consider him to be the favourite to secure the win? Let us know in the comments, BJPENN Nation!
