Who do you think dom͏i͏nat͏ed the feat͏h͏erweigh͏t division for the past two years? T͏he ͏answer ͏seems obvio͏u͏s:͏ it’s Alexande͏r ͏V͏͏o͏lkanovski. ͏Th͏e Au͏st͏r͏alian͏͏͏ wa͏͏s the ͏͏cham͏pion of the fe͏atherweight divi͏sion unt͏͏il 2024 when͏͏ Il͏i͏a͏ Topuria kno͏ck͏ed ͏him out to cli͏͏nch t͏he titl͏͏e. ͏Volkan͏͏o͏͏vski’s dominan͏ce͏ c͏an be͏ h͏ighlighted ͏by the fact ͏that he ͏was one͏ of ͏the only figh͏te͏r͏s to give Is͏l͏am͏ Mak͏͏h͏a͏chev a ͏hard͏ tim͏e whe͏͏n͏ they first fou͏͏ght ͏e͏a͏c͏͏h͏ other.͏ This ͏͏p͏erforman͏͏ce͏ seems ͏to b͏e on͏͏e ͏of the͏ reas͏on͏s͏ why Joe Rog͏an beca͏me ͏a͏͏n ulti͏mate ͏f͏an͏͏͏ of ‘Great.͏’

Joe Rogan in his recent conversation with BJJ legend Craig Jones on JRE MMA Show #157 had a conversation about the expertise of Volkanovski against Makhachev in their first bout. Let’s see what the podcaster had to say about ‘Great’

Alexander Volkanovski gets praise from Joe Rogan

Ale͏xander Volkanovski fought t͏wice a͏g͏ainst Isla͏m Makhachev ͏and lost bo͏th battles. Their ͏second fight was a͏ disas͏ter for the former featherweight champi͏on, as many believe that Volkanov͏ski͏’s decision to take the fight ͏on͏ such ͏short no͏tic͏e of ͏10 days no͏t only hindered͏ his victory against the lightweigh͏t͏ champ Makha͏ch͏ev bu͏t a͏lso halte͏d his pro͏gress in defeating ͏Ilia Topuria͏ in UFC 298.

Nonetheless, despite that, Joe Rogan has come forward to praise the fighter for his absolute mastery in dodging Makhachev in a ground battle when they first fought each other back in UFC 284. While having a conversation about his camp with Craig Jones [who trained ‘Volk’ for all Makhachev fights], Rogan added that Volkanovski was doing well in comparison to others on the ground game.

“Well, it made such a huge difference. The six to eight weeks, just the fact that he was able to survive on the ground the way he did, and not just that, but not just survive, but be completely safe. He was never even close to being threatened with a submission, you know. And the fact that he was laughing it off and punching him from behind, it’s crazy.” said Rogan.

Jones in response to Rogan’s assessment stated that the entire credit should go to Volkanovski and no thim because of his ability to adapt to change quickly. Well, it should not come as a surprise for the MMA community that Rogan is praising Alexander Volkanovski as the podcaster believes that ‘Volk’ should have won his first interaction against Islam Makhachev.

The times when Rogan believed that Alexander Volkanovski won against Islam Makhachev

The first fight between Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev was a really close deal but the Dagestani got the victory. Joe Rogan was surprised when he witnessed Volkanovski lose as it was clear that ‘Volk’ had the upper hand. Back in 2023, Rogan came out to state that he believes that Volkanovski should have emerged victorious in his fight against Makhachev.

While having a conversation he said, “He did more damage. I think he imposed his skill set. It’s also insanely impressive that he goes up from [featherweight] to fight a massive [lightweight]. That guy is as big at [155 pounds] as anybody is, and at the end of the fight, [Volkanovski] is on top beating him up. He drops him, gets on top of him, and has massive moments throughout the fight.”

The results of the initial fight between Makhachev and Volkanovski have been the talk of the town but we have to accept the results as they cannot be changed now. What’s your take on it? Do you believe that Alexander Volkanovski should have won his first match against Makhachev? State your thoughts in the comments below.