With only just days away from one of the most anticipated fights in history. The two champions are ready to lock horns in the octagon this Sunday to prove who is the pound-for-pound king in the UFC.
Alexander Volkanovski has said many times that this fight with Islam Makhachev is a risk but also a massive opportunity to solidify his legacy in the history books. But the Aussie understands that Makhachev has more to lose in this fight and is prepared to take on whatever the Russian throws at him.
“His belt is on the line, so that’s how I look at it. I want that belt. I’m sure he doesn’t want to lose it, and I don’t want to lose that pound-for-pound number spot. But I mean, just me losing is bigger than losing that pound-for-pound spot, you know what I mean. So again, losing is four steps back for my family and me, and that means more to me than the No. 1 pound-for-pound spot. Yeah, it’s cool I love it, but at the same time, I just refuse to lose period,” Volkanovski told ESPN MMA.
However, Volkanovski sees that Makhachev has an overwhelming amount of confidence coming into this fight and doesn’t feel that he understands the threat that the Aussie is capable of when they square off in the octagon.
“It’s Cockiness I thought, you know what I mean. Again, you could see I was confident, but there was respect there and all that type of stuff. He’s a pretty respectful dude, but there I felt like there was cockiness, and I love smacking smirks on people’s faces. So, I’m looking forward to that,” Volkanovski said.
