In Islam Makhachev’s opinion, Alexander Volkanovski has no chance of stopping his wrestling.
Volkanovski hopes to establish himself as an MMA legend at UFC 284 by winning the title of two-division UFC champion. In order to achieve this, he must win against the current lightweight champion Makhachev.
In a joint interview with Daniel Cormier, the two exchanged funny jibes. The Russian described the grappling prowess of his opponent as follows:
“All of my opponents say, ‘I’m gonna stop his wrestling, he not gonna take me down,’ but, brother, Australia don’t have wrestling. That’s why I don’t care. Alex, if you good wrestler and you have good defense, you can go Olympic games from Australia. ”
Makhachev is slightly underestimating Volkanovski even though he is the pound-for-pound champion of the UFC. The Russian thinks Volkanovski is too small and doesn’t have the wrestling pedigree to win the lightweight title.
Alexander Volkanovski was able to answer Islam Makhachev right away. Volkanovski let out a little giggle before warning his UFC 284 rival. The featherweight world champion said:
“I was actually a national champion… As you said, this is MMA… We all know your hope is to try and grab ahold of me and hold me down. If that doesn’t work in your favor, we all know how uncomfortable you’re gonna be.”
Volkanovski initially seemed to be underestimated by everyone, but several fans and experts are now supporting Volkanovski to win. The betting odds indicate that Makhachev will likely prevail despite the featherweight champion finally earning his respect.
On February 11, UFC 284 will take place in Perth, Australia’s RAC Arena. The interim featherweight title shot is at stake between Yair Rodriguez and Josh Emmett. Australian talents like Tyson Pedro, Justin Tafa, Jimmy Crute, and more are also featured on the card.