Alexander Volkanovski has been making quite some waves with his social media presence. Be it his impressive cooking skills or impeccable fighting prowess, ‘The Great’ doesn’t really back down on entertaining the fans. But little did the #1 featherweight contender know that one of his social media videos would engulf his performance against Diego Lopes in a shadow of doubt, just mere hours before the fight. Let’s see what it was all about.

With just hours left to the main event for UFC 314, ‘The Great’ teamed up with Jose Eduardo Santiago, ESPN’s barber, on Instagram, and shared a hilarious reel. Therein, the former 2-time featherweight champion wore a brunette wig, while Santiago took hold of his scissors and acted as if he was giving Volkanovski a makeover. Meanwhile, the Australian featherweight sang a couple of lines of ‘Fall For You’ by Secondhand Serenade – “Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you, over again. Don’t make me change my mind.”

Soon after the reel went viral on the internet, the fighting community went into a frenzy. The major concern? Volkanovski’s fight against Lopes was just a handful of hours away, and the Australian seemed to be engaged in social media popularity. The legendary bare-knuckle fighter, Mike Perry, was also one of the many concerned souls. He took to the comments section and expressed his doubts about Volkanovski’s stance at the main event for UFC 314. He wrote, “Is bro gonna make these videos and still win ?”

Of course, there were others who joined ‘Platinum’ in the comments section. Aljamain Sterling and Alan Jouban simply punched in a few laughing emojis. But the worries for Volkanovski’s apparent defeat were unavoidable. Let’s see what concerns the UFC stars had prior to ‘The Great’s UFC 314 appearance. 

Brendan Schaub and Colby Covington point at Alexander Volkanovski’s loss at UFC 314

The former UFC contender, Brendan Schaub, during a recent episode of his YouTube talk show, pointed out that the Australian fighter was indeed better than Lopes while looking at their fighting skills, gas tank, battle IQ, and fight experience in the UFC. However, the 6-year difference in their age was a big concern for Schaub. He said, “But, Volkanovski is 36 years old. There’s never been a guy over 35 to do what Volkanovski is attempting. If Alex were a little bit younger, I’d pick him all day. I’m rooting for Alex, I want him to win, but it’s never been done before.”

On the other hand, Colby Covington seemed to think that Volkanovski was just in the bout for the monetary aspect. He claimed that Lopes was actually younger and hungrier than the former 2-time featherweight champion. He said, “I think he’s [Lopes] younger and hungrier, and I think Volk is just coming for a paycheck. So, I think that emo kid beats him… And he’s begging to fight ever since then. So I haven’t known, I believe he’s just cash grabbing.” 

Needless to say, Volkanovski also received a boatload of support, while many believed that he was going to lose at UFC 314. And the list included Michael Bisping, who dissed ‘Chaos’ for humiliating the former featherweight champion. All things said and done, we’ll find in a few hours what comes of the bout. Will Volkanovski succeed in becoming a 2-time featherweight champion? Or will he go on a 3-fight losing streak after the main event for UFC 314? Let’s watch the story unfold.