Defeated in the first round by Islam Makhachev, Alexander Volkanovski reacted to his defeat not without emotions.
"الضربة القاضية والحاسمة" لاسلام ماخاشيف بطل UFC بالـ KO تصوير من جانب الاوكتاقون 📽
“The final and decisive blow” to Islam Makhachev, the UFC champion, by KO. Photographed by Octazone 📽#UFC294 #fighter #chechnya #dagestan pic.twitter.com/YstP1UTMFw
— mmamag.ma (@jamalsoussi10) October 21, 2023
Defeated by Islam Makhachev after a very close fight in Perth last February, Alexander Volkanovski lost again to the Russian this Saturday evening. Despite the short notice, the Australian had announced the best version of himself for this fight. Ultimately, it was a great disappointment for him since the fight did not go beyond the first round. Aware that this was perhaps his last chance to obtain this lightweight title, the -65kg champion almost shed tears during his post-fight reaction:
“I could have made better decisions during the fight, but I can agree that he (Islam Makhachev) is not someone you take on short notice. I needed this fight, a lot of people said ‘it’s for the money’, it was much more than that. It’s hard, very hard for us athletes… I never thought that the breaks between fights would be difficult for me, but strangely when I wasn’t fighting or wasn’t in training camps… It frustrated me . I needed a fight and this opportunity arrived. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t training as much as I should have. But I had to do it! I had to grab this! I said to myself ‘it’s destiny’ (…) I have a wonderful family, but I don’t know why, I have to stay busy. That’s why I’m asking the UFC to keep me busy. If I’m not active or in training camp, I’m unhappy. »
شاهد …ردة فعل أديسانيا إسرائيل على مشاهدة صديقه اليكساندر فولكونوفسكي يسقط بالضربة القاضية القاتل للبطل اسلام مخاتشيف عرض #UFC294
Watch…Adesanya Israel's reaction to watching his friend Alexander Volkonovskiy knockout champion Islam Makhachev #UFC294 pic.twitter.com/FOYXg9Mg3x
— mmamag.ma (@jamalsoussi10) October 22, 2023
