‘Bulk Volk’: Alex Volkanovski ‘leaving no stone unturned’ in bid to become double UFC champ
Aussie UFC star Alex Volkanovski is leaving no stone unturned in his bid to put his name in the history books as a rare double champ.
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Alex Volkanovski is “leaving no stone unturned” in his preparation for the biggest fight of his career that could make him a UFC legend.
The Australian featherweight champion is stepping up a division to take on Islam Makhachev for the lightweight belt at UFC 284 in Perth in February.
If he manages to beat the Makhachev, Volkanovski will become just the ninth fighter to be champion across multiple weight classes.
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The bout between the top two fighters in UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings is a mouth-watering prospect for MMA fans and Makhachev will give Volkanovski the toughest test of his career.
The Russian has won his last 11 UFC fights, has a 10cm height advantage over Volkanovski and is renowned for destroying opponents with his grappling skills when he gets them on the ground.
With that in mind, Volkanovski is leaving nothing to chance in a longer-than-unusual training camp.
“I started camp early for this one,” Volkanovski told news.com.au.
“Obviously it’s a big fight, massive opportunity for me so I’m taking this one seriously.
“We’re taking this one very seriously. No stone left unturned on this one. We’re already in good nick and we’ve still got eight weeks to go.”
Putting on the necessary weight to fight at lightweight doesn’t happen overnight, but the 34-year-old is adding muscle in a process he describes as “bulking with Volk”.
“We’re doing a few things differently actually,” Volkanovski said.
“The strength program is a little bit different because we’re obviously trying to get a bit stronger and put on that little bit of muscle. And obviously with that you need to have a diet plan as well.
“So we’re bulking at the moment — bulking with Volk. We’re eating a lot. I’ve never thought I would be the one to complain about how much I’m eating but it ain’t easy to be honest.”
Volkanovski is putting himself through the ringer, training against bigger bodies so he’s up to the task of grappling Makhachev.
“The guys we’re training with as well are very heavy wrestler grappler-based training partners,” he said.
“We’re lucky enough to have my training partners and coaches from Thailand and guys like Craig Jones, obviously one of the best grapplers in the world, and he’s like 95kg.
“It’s good. We’ve got some good bodies to move around with and getting us well prepared.”
Tactically, Volkanovski will look to play to his strengths and fight standing up, while trying to avoid grappling with Makhachev.
“It’s pretty obvious what he wants to do,” Volkanovski explained.
“We all know he’s a grappler, he’s going to want to try and use his size and hold me down and try and look for a submission or beat me there.
“But that’s one thing that’s going to be a very hard task, and that’s to hold me down.
“It’s pretty obvious I want to keep it standing up on the feet and put some hands on him. I’m really confident that’s exactly what’s going to happen. This is obviously a big challenge. Islam’s no joke but I’ll be ready for it.”
But Volkanovski is confident he can match it with him and squirm out of any tricky situation, as he showed in his epic win over Brian Ortega.
“To be honest, I’ve been pretty impressed with my grappling, especially against guys like Craig,” he added.
“I feel like I could be hard work even if I wanted to stay on the ground but that’s his best chance, so obviously get back to the feet and use my skills.
“Everyone knows I’ve got the striking advantage. I think that’ll make him very uncomfortable. I’m going to make him uncomfortable on the feet and look for that finish.”
Volkanovski is relishing the chance to challenge for a title in front of a home crowd for the first time in his career.
“I’ve fought in Australia a few times in my UFC career but not while I was champion,” he said.
“I’ve been champion for a few years now and I haven’t been able to defend or fight for a title on home soil so it’s going to be incredible.
“Even just being able to fight in Australia and to fight for a belt and not just any belt — fight for that lightweight title, another belt, and make history and really push that legacy forward. “It’s going to be incredible to do that here in Australia.”
One of Australia’s biggest sporting stars, Volkanovski is a man in demand and has teamed up with PlayStation for the launch of the God of War Ragnarök video game.
“I’ve always been a gamer,” he said, adding he is a better killer in the octagon than he is playing Kratos, the game’s main character.
“Me and my friends have always been gaming since a young age.
“Kratos is a cool dude. Well I’ll be honest, I’m a lot better in real life. That’s something that I’ve realised. My inner Kratos is better in real life than it is in the game to be honest.”
Originally published as ‘Bulk Volk’: Alex Volkanovski ‘leaving no stone unturned’ in bid to become double UFC champ
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