A fire has been lit under Alexander Volkanovski ahead of UFC 314 this weekend.
Volkanovski (26-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC) is set to face Diego Lopes (26-6 MMA, 5-1 UFC) in Saturday’s main event at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, for the featherweight title, as he looks to reclaim the top spot in a division he dominated for so long.
Following back-to-back knockout losses to Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria, the Australian returns to the Octagon this weekend with questions surrounding his ability to compete with the best at 145 pounds at this stage of his career.
“A lot of people are doubting me, but like usually, I’ll be a bit spiteful about it if that makes sense, but now I’m like going, ‘Yeah, I get why yous think that, but I’ma show yas,'” Volkanovski told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC 314 media day. “So, I still have that something to prove, but I’m not angry about it, if that makes sense. It’s like yeah, I’m gonna prove it to myself and I’m gonna prove it to the world.”
Entering this weekend’s fight on the first losing streak of his career, Volkanovski revealed he has left no stone unturned in his preparations this time around.
“This is the leanest I’ve ever been,” Volkanovski said. “I really wanted to get my percentage body fat to be honest, I think it would definitely be the lowest it’s ever been. It’s 16 weeks of just hard camp and real discipline. Didn’t have a drop of alcohol the whole 16 weeks, not even a cheat meal. So, I guess you could say I went above and beyond.
“The work ethic is always there for me, right? The intensity in training. Physcially, I’m always putting it in. You’re never going to top that becasue I’m always topping it. I can’t go any harder than what I do.”
"It Doesn't Get Much Bigger Than This"
Volkanovski put together an astonishing 22-fight winning streak between 2013 and 2023, culminating in his capture of the UFC featherweight title and multiple successful defenses.
He suffered defeats in both of his attempts to claim Islam Makhachev’s lightweight title and lost his 145-pound belt after a brutal knockout by Ilia Topuria in February 2024.
With his back against the wall for the first time in his UFC career, Volkanovski is ready to come out guns blazing this weekend.
“I’ve never been in this situation before,” Volkanovski said. “I’ve never come off such a big break. I’ve never come off two losses. So, it’s definitely the biggest fight of my career. Everyone’s gonna go, ‘Oh, yeah, you’ve done enough.’ But I haven’t. I can do a lot more and it starts this weekend.
“It’s starts on Saturday with this new title reign. When you talk about legacy, it doesn’t get much bigger than this. The comeback is going to be real. This is sh*t people write books about and movies about.”
