"I wasn't the professional" - Alexander Volkanovski stands by short-notice decision, admits lapse in training ahead of UFC 294

Alexander Volkanovski objectively analyzed the reasons for his loss in the Islam Makhachev rematch at UFC 294 this past weekend. Volkanovski stepped up to face the UFC lightweight champion on eleven days’ notice after Charles Oliveira was forced to withdraw due to a gnarly training injury.

It was a tall order to climb anyway and Volkanovski suffered a crushing first-round knockout loss at the hands of the Dagestani fighter. The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for Alexander Volkanovski and fans witnessed the vulnerable and emotional side of him during the post-fight press conference.

The featherweight champion opened up about his mental struggles over the past few months and how being out of the training camp negatively affected his state of mind.

All the dust has settled now and the Australian fighter spoke candidly about his decision to take the short-notice fight in a video posted on his personal YouTube channel. Practically speaking, there are not too many fighters in the UFC that can defeat Islam Makhachev even with a full training camp.

‘The Great’ had supreme confidence in his own abilities and stands by the decision to take the UFC 294 rematch on short notice. He said:

“I still stand by that decision because I believe in myself all the time and I think people should challenge themselves. I’ve been a big advocate of people challenging themselves and put themselves in positions - high risk, high reward. I’m a big believer in that and I was chasing greatness.”

However, Alexander Volkanovski admitted to his mistakes and added:

“I was a little more disappointed that I wasn’t the professional, disciplined person that I was the last few months, that I usually am. So the timing of this fight coming while I was not in the gym as much as I would like to be.”

Watch Alexander Volkanovski share his thoughts from the 04:29 mark of the video below:

The 35-year-old had to undergo a surgery after the Yair Rodriguez fight. Additionally, his third daughter was born a few weeks ago. A combination of factors like these significantly reduced his focus on training.

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Alexander Volkanovski gives full credit to Islam Makhachev and his team

Alexander Volkanovski was visibly disappointed with his performance immediately after the fight. However, he made no excuses and gave Islam Makhachev full credit for setting up a perfect head kick that knocked him out in the rematch.

The day after the event, Volkanovski met with Islam Makhachev and sent a powerful message that spoke volumes about his championship mentality.

See the post below:

The Islam Makhachev loss has put an end to Alexander Volkanovski’s ambition to become a double champion for the foreseeable future. However, the featherweight champion has beaten the odds several times in his career and may very well find a way back to the lightweight title shot.