Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski stole the show at the UFC 298 press conference with an ‘old man’ gimmick. Moreover, he happened to fall asleep while addressing the media, but Paulo Costa was there to wake him up. This light-hearted stunt prompted one of ‘Volk’s former rivals and fans to share some hilarious reactions.
Alexander Volkanovski carried on his ‘old man’ schtick after starring in an advertisement about being too old ahead of his sixth title defense at UFC 298. He made sure to crack up fans in a hilarious stunt. During the press conference, reporters turned to Ilia Topuria to ask some questions. While the Georgian-Spanish fighter replied to those questions, Volkanovski was seen falling asleep. But then, middleweight contender Paulo Costa came across the other side of the stage and woke up the Aussie. Not only did the crowd in attendance find it funny, but fans also gave their take on the incident on social media.
Alexander Volkanovski’s sleeping stunt had Max Holloway and UFC fans in stitches
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There is no doubt that Alexander Volkanovski has a pretty good sense of humor, and so does Paulo Costa. The stunt they pulled at the UFC 298 presser had Max Holloway share a tweet, claiming that he could not stop laughing after seeing ‘The Great’ sleep on the stage.
The sleeping on stage is killing me 😂😂😂
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) February 16, 2024
Furthermore, fans on Instagram also could not contain their laughter at Alexander Volkanovski’s stunt. Some fans think that he should consider a career in acting after his UFC career is wrapped up. They appeared to love his gimmick as well.
“Volk really needs to get into acting”
“This new Volk gimmick is gold”
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Some fans also mentioned that Paulo Costa and Alexander Volkanovski make for an interesting and entertaining pair. Moreover, they lauded ‘The Great’ for staying in character throughout the press conference.
“The duo we never knew we needed”
“Volk not breaking character is the coldest thing ever”
Not only did the fans think ‘old man Volk’ was funny, but they believed that Volkanovski could have been inspired by MMA legend Chael Sonnen and even WWE.
“This had me rolling! Classic Volk! F***ing hilarious.”
“Channeling his inner Chael”
“Lmao WWE addition”
While that was a funny incident on the featherweight champion’s behalf, his opponent, Ilia Topuria, also did not stay down as he pulled a stunt of his own as well. Let’s have a look at what transpired.
Ilia Topuria takes Volkanovski’s title
‘El Matador’ seemed to have been irritated by Volk’s gimmick and antics as he closed the press conference with a daring stunt. Similar to how Conor McGregor took Jose Aldo‘s championship belt at the UFC 194 pressers, Ilia Topuria dared to replicate that against Alexander Volkanovski. As the champion was answering a question, the challenger stole his championship belt.
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The Georgian-Spanish fighter’s actions seemingly riled up Volkanovski as they almost came to blows. After several exchanges with ‘old man Volk’, he decided to leave an impression of his own against one of the greatest featherweight fighters ever. This could prompt Alexander Volkanovski to double down on his wish to humble Ilia Topruia.
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While there were a few funny moments during the press conference thanks to Alexander Volkanovski, things also got heated up between him and Ilia Topuria. It will be interesting to see how the fight pans out for both fighters this weekend as we wait to see if Ilia Topuria creates history or if Volkanovski extends his impressive title reign.
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What do you think? Drop your comments below.