“Good, close fight… back and forth… You’re gonna hear people say, ‘Robbery!’ And things like this. Close fights like that, you can never say they’re robberies. Can you see it going my way? Yeah. Can people see it going his way? Yeah. That’s gonna happen.” Alexander Volkanovski said on his YouTube channel after his epic UFC 284 champion vs. champion outing nearly two years ago. The night ‘Volk’ moved a Dagestani mountain to a place where it had never been. The backlash Islam Makhachev received after his unanimous decision victory was brutal. Nate Diaz even went on to write, “Yeah right Islam got his a–s whooped.”

This sentiment was even shared by Joe Rogan who thought that ‘The Great’ eeked out a victory and that the judges got it wrong. “In my eyes, I thought it was three-two (to Volkanovski).” This isn’t something new in MMA! Over the years, we have witnessed close contests that have faced the wrath of popular mandate no matter what. Don’t believe us? Remember Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 1 or Georges St-Pierre vs. Johnny Hendricks? MMA history is a graveyard of contentious results! While Volkanovski found himself on the bad side for UFC 284, he was all class after the bout. The same can be said even 2 years later. Speaking to TNT Sports, the former champ stated:

“Again, Islam is that good, but you know, people just doubted me. They have always doubted me, and I am okay with that. But I had to show them! I mean we knew, I knew it was close going in. You got a lot of people, Again you know! You talk about as I said with the Max one [UFC 251], close fights. And I never call them…That’s not a robbery. Even I believe, look I believe I won! When people try to say robbery, even I want to say robbery. It’s not a robbery. There are too many close rounds to say that. I am sick of people saying that people shouldn’t get the backlash for it. I am sure he got the backlash for that. Which I was a victim of! You know what I mean?”

For the unversed, even ‘Volk’ found himself on the bad side of fans after his victory over Max Holloway at UFC 251. While the judges gave the Aussie the nod, the fight community was back with the ‘robbery’ narrative. Weighing in on what Makhachev faced after UFC 284, Volk said, “I felt for him [Islam] in that sense. I thought I had done enough, especially my hometown! It lived up to the hype. Getting fight of the year. #1 and #2 pound for pound going at it. It’s going to be one for the history books. It deserved a proper rematch! That’s for sure. But, me just being the guy I am..”

Volk even shared if he regretted taking the Makhachev rematch on 11 days’ notice. “Do I regret it? It’s such a tough one because I can’t say I regret it because that’s the guy I am. That mindset, that mentality. The guy who would take on them challenges. He is the one who steps up into the gym. That’s the guy who steps up in the gym, as I said. Without that mindset and mentality, I wouldn’t be where I am. So yeah, it is going to bite you in the a-s sometimes, but look at the career that it gave me as well.”

As he gears up for his return at UFC 314, Volkanovski is chasing the goal of becoming a two-time featherweight champion. The question now is: will the hyperactive Volk return to his past form, or has time corroded his edge? Only the former champ can answer that on April 12th. Volkanovski is aiming to snap the first losing skid of his career, following knockout defeats to Ilia Topuria and Islam Makhachev. After taking a year away from the Octagon, he seems rejuvenated and ready to make a proclamation.

Although, he refused to let those defeats define the end of his story. Still, the consecutive losses came as a shock, and for a time, he struggled under the weight of emotional distress, deeply reflecting on what went wrong.

Alexander Volkanovski candidly weighed in on his mindset before UFC 294

In a recent interview, Alexander Volkanovski revealed that he shouldn’t have rushed into the second bout with Islam Makhachev at UFC 294. After his win against Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290, Volkanovski took a break due to hand surgery—but during that time, he began struggling mentally and developed a drinking habit.

In a conversation on the Freestylebender YouTube channel, Volkanovski opened up about what led him down that path. “Just a little, little pressure that a lot, that everyone goes through, and a little uneasy. The drinking was helping, and I just wasn’t happy where I was. I was, again, like you said, self-aware. I’m very self-aware, and I’m always good like that,” voiced the Aussie.

He admitted to drinking daily before getting the call to rematch the Dagestani champion on just 11 days’ notice. Despite not being fully prepared, he took the fight, hoping to shake off the rut he had fallen into. “I thought, ‘Let’s do it, I need to snap out of this rut I’m in. This is exciting, this is a challenge, and it’s exactly what I need right now. So I was just a little disappointed with myself at that time.'”

Volkanovski went on to lose to Makhachev again at UFC 294 and later suffered another loss to Ilia Topuria. But those setbacks haven’t derailed him. Now, he’s back with renewed focus and determination as he prepares to face Diego Lopes in hopes of reclaiming the featherweight title. Will Volkanovski rise once again and become a two-time featherweight champion? Given his resilience and warrior mindset, few would doubt that he has what it takes.