Alexander Volkanovski believes the work he put in with Craig Jones while preparing for his fights against Islam Makhachev will give him the tools to neutralize Movsar Evloev’s wrestling at UFC 333.
Volkanovski is scheduled to defend his UFC featherweight title against the unbeaten Evloev in the main event in Abu Dhabi on October 24. With Evloev’s wrestling expected to be one of the biggest factors in the matchup, the Australian says his previous preparation for Makhachev has given him a new level of confidence when dealing with elite grapplers.
Speaking to Main Event TV this week, Volkanovski was asked how the work he did ahead of his bouts with Makhachev could translate to his upcoming title defense.
“Oh, so much,” Volkanovski said. “A lot of those things, even though I naturally did a lot of good things already, like putting me in certain positions and having the sort of mindset that I've always had, but just dealing with certain problems from there, I've just figured out my own game when it comes to this sort of stuff.”
According to Volkanovski, that experience has not only improved his technical ability but also changed his mindset when he finds himself in difficult positions against wrestlers.
“And there's a confidence behind it,” he said. “Now, that confidence has been taken to the gym, so every time I'm in these positions, I'm calm.”
Volkanovski believes that calmness will be particularly important against Evloev, who enters the fight undefeated and has built his career around a strong wrestling-heavy style.
“These guys thinking, ‘Oh, I've got the takedown. Oh, I'm going to get him with this.’ No!” Volkanovski said. “I just know where I need to be. I know where they need to be. And I just don't let them.”
The former two-time UFC featherweight champion said the experience of preparing specifically for Makhachev helped him take his defensive grappling to another level.
“I've always done it naturally, but that camp just made me level up,” Volkanovski said.
That confidence has carried over into his current training camp, with Volkanovski insisting he is not concerned about Evloev being able to control him on the ground.
“Could he take me down? Yeah. Can he hold me down? Sorry, no,” Volkanovski said. “And I say that with full confidence, so again there's nothing to worry about.”
