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UFC pound-for-pound king Alexander Volkanovski is set to face the newly crowned lightweight champion Islam Makhachev for the 155-pound strap at the upcoming UFC 284 card in Perth, Australia.
In a recent appearance on Michael Bisping's Believe You Me podcast, 'The Great' boldly claimed that he was not going to panic even if the sambo maestro took him down during the fight:
"There is a good chance [Islam Makhachev] might get the takedown... [but] I guarantee you this, I'm going to be composed, I'm going to be calm and I'm going to be fighting my a** off to get back to my feet and I will not panic."
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However, the reigning lightweight champion took no heed to the Australian's claims. In a recent tweet, the Dagestani guaranteed that the 34-year-old was going panic after spending a mere 15 seconds on the ground:
"After [the] first 15 helpless seconds on the ground, I guarantee you will panic."
Few have been able to resist the Russian's onslaught. In his most recent fight at UFC 280, Makhachev masterfully submitted Charles Oliveira, who is touted as one of the most dangerous submission artists in MMA history.
However, Volkanovski has a history of slipping out of even the tightest submissions. The 34-year-old pulled off two seemingly impossible submission escapes in his UFC 266 fight against Brian Ortega. But will the well-rounded Australian be able to deal with the Russian's vicious wrestling? Only time will tell.
When Khabib Nurmagomedov confidently spoiled Islam Makhachev's game plan for Alexander Volkanovski
During an Interview with ESPN MMA's Brett Okamoto at UFC 280, UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov detailed how his protege Islam Makhachev was going to methodically pick apart Alexander Volkanovski.
'The Eagle' guaranteed that 'The Great' was going to eat a lot of knees while in clinches and ultimately get choked out by the lightweight champion:
"Volkanovksi? Clinch, lots of knees. He is going to eat a lot of knees. It's going to take [all of his] energy. [Then Makhachev] is going to take him down and he's going to choke him out."
The lightweight legend added that mere months of preparation were not going to help the Australian defend himself against the Russian's vastly superior wrestling:
"Even if he knows this [the game plan], let him prepare [for] this, how many months? Five months, six months? This guy [Islam Makhachev] has been doing this [for] 20 years."
Watch the full interview below:
