UFC 298: ‘Chance of Losing’- Alexander Volkanovski Reveals His Negotiation Policies With Dana White & Co. Before Ilia Topuria Fight

Ilia Topuria is nothing if not confident. Going up against undoubtedly the greatest featherweight in UFC history, who is yet to lose a bout at the 145 lbs division in the promotion in Alexander Volkanovski, the Georgia native has certainly talked a good game.

Sparing no opportunity to trash the featherweight champion ahead of their UFC 298 main event bout this Saturday, ‘El Matador’ has suggested repeatedly ‘Volk’ retire as he is too old and focus on his cooking. He has even put the words “UFC Champion” on his Instagram bio already as he is absolutely sure he will beat Volk. And ahead of his sixth title defense, Alexander Volkanovski opened up about why he always thinks about losing going into his fights.

Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t shy away from thinking about losing

In an interview with ESPN MMA’s Megan Olivi, Volkanovski opened up about his approach to negotiating with the UFC. He revealed that before negotiating for his fights, he always considered the potential negative outcome and prepared for losing.

Going into negotiations, this helped him to secure himself financially and in terms of future opportunities in case he lost. This, the 35-year-old said, was the case for his last fight against Islam Makhachev.

The Australian, who was moving up a weight class and took the fight at short notice, suffered a humiliating head-kick knockout loss to the lightweight champion at their UFC 294 rematch. However, he admitted that, going into the fight, he felt there was a very real possibility of losing, but had been able to secure a deal that, at least financially, made it worth the risk.

“Even though I’m very confident going in, there’s always a chance of losing, right. So there’s always like, whether you’re negotiating or whatever, I always make sure there’s a safety net. I always think of it [like] ‘all right we can do these negotiations, if we lose let’s make sure these prices are, for me as a contender, bank,” ‘Volk’ said.

So I’ve always just looked at things that way. That’s just something that I’ve always done… including the last one with Islam, obviously,” he added. But Volkanovski is confident he can beat Topuria even as the bookmakers have considerably less faith in him.

Topuria is a dangerous opponent for Volkanovski

Alexander Volkanovski has opened as only a moderate betting favorite for his upcoming UFC 298 clash against Ilia Topuria. Coming off a tough loss, with lingering questions about how well he has recovered from the knockout and how it will affect him, one can argue that Volkanovski certainly looks the most vulnerable he has ever looked in his UFC career.

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Add to this the animosity and vitriol Topuria has directed towards him, Alexander Volkanovski has something to prove after a long long time. Having promised to teach Topuria a lesson in humility and show him that there are levels to this game, many are expecting to see the most dangerous version of the featherweight champion.

However, Topuria is a seriously good fighter, with excellent grappling combined with heavy hands that hold knockout power. Add to this his supreme confidence and self-belief, it is easy to see why their clash is expected to be a thrilling affair that doesn’t seem like it will go the distance. What are your predictions for UFC 298?

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