UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski has taken the time to reflect on his famous first fight against Islam Makhachev.
As we know, Alexander Volkanovski is one of the greatest fighters of his generation – and that much is obvious. ‘The Great’ has done some wonderful things throughout the course of his mixed martial arts career, including becoming a two-time champion at 145 pounds. In his most recent outing, he was able to defeat Diego Lopes for a second time to retain his championship.
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Prior to that, though, Volkanovski made a couple of moves up to the lightweight division in order to challenge Islam Makhachev for the belt. While the second short notice contest ended quickly via KO, the first was an incredibly competitive fight, with many believing to this day that Volk should have been the one to get his hand raised.
In a recent interview, Volkanovski took the time to look back at what he was able to do on that night.
Volkanovski on first Makhachev fight
“We know how good Islam is until this day – look what he’s doing,” Volkanovski said in an interview with ENGAGE. “Everyone knew that back then. He just hadn’t faced the guys yet to even get that type of resume. Even though his resume was still good, it wasn’t the resume he’s got now. But everyone knew he was that good. And me moving up against a guy that’s got that style, everyone thought there’s no way.
“So for me to go out there and do what I did, a lot of people thinking I won and just having that type of fight, me still being pound-for-pound No. 1 was still crazy. We broke records in Australia when you talk numbers and gates, and pay-per-views here in Australia. It was a massive fight, lived up to the hype, the storyline – everything around it was just incredible. Even though I lost, I still think it’s probably one of the biggest moments of my career.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
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