Tristan Tate offers support to Alexander Volkanovski in light of confessions about mental health struggles following UFC 294 loss

Alexander Volkanovski suffered his first knockout loss in over a decade at UFC 294 after Islam Makhachev landed a head kick followed by a sequence of punches to finish the featherweight champion. 'The Great' revealed that he took the short notice fight on 12 days notice as he deals with mental health struggles when he is not training.

Tristan Tate recently praised the No.2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter while imploring the UFC to keep him busy. His older brother Andrew Tate shared footage from Volkanovski's post-fight press conference, adding:

"The reason we fight others is so we don’t fight ourselves. The reason we destroy others is so we don’t destroy ourselves. Someone has to pay. Better them than me."

The younger Tate brother quoted his elder brother's tweet, saying:

"God bless this man. Keep him busy @ufc we love to watch him. 🙏🏽"

Check out Tristan Tate's tweet regarding Alexander Volkanovski below:

Volkanovski has been among the busiest fighters on the UFC roster, as he has had three title fights over the past eight months. He has, however, lost two of those bouts, including his first-round knockout loss at UFC 294.

Prior to the recent skid, 'The Great' had been on a 22-fight win streak, 12 of which came in the UFC. He has expressed an interest in facing Ilia Topuria at UFC 297 in January, however, it is unclear if he will instead take a much-deserved break, similar to his teammate and friend Israel Adesanya.

What did Alexander Volkanovski say about his mental health?

Alexander Volkanovski opened up about his mental health struggles following his UFC 294 loss to Islam Makhachev. Speaking at the post-fight press conference, the featherweight champion stated:

"I needed it. A lot of people will say it's for the money and all that, but it was much more than that. It is hard for athletes - sorry. I never thought I'd struggle with it, but for some reason, when I wasn't fighting or in camp - f**k, sorry - I'd just do my head in. I needed a fight and this opportunity came up. I'll be honest, I wasn't training as much as I should've, but I thought I had to do it."

Check out Alexander Volkanovski's comments on his mental health struggles below:

Volkanovski added that he struggles when not fighting and needs to keep busy. He noted that he asked the UFC to keep him busy, which they have done. In addition to fighting three times over the past eight months, the featherweight champion has fought five times over the past 18 months. Prior to UFC 294, 'The Great' last entered the octagon three months ago.