Volkanovski pledges UFC 294 ‘nightmare’ for Makhachev

Alexander Volkanovski shares he’s in a “no pressure headspace” ahead of his unplanned re-fight vs. lightweight champ Islam Makhachev.

The fighter from Australia was put into the main event at UFC 294 after Charles Oliveira’s withdrawal from his bout vs. Islam (24-1) after the Brazilian suffered an injury during training camp weeks before the event.

Alexander Volkanovski is “coming off the couch” to take Islam Makhachev’s title 👀

Full story: https://t.co/5jpitn858l pic.twitter.com/HklOxypm1i

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Volkanovski (26-2) agreed immediately to fight with the Russian, even though the Australian will have only 11 days to get in shape for the biggest bout in his UFC career. But while many experts discuss about the negatives of such a short period to prepare, Alexander himself sees the positives of that.

“Everyone talks about all the cons, and there’s such, but there’s definitely pros of the current situation,” Volkanovski shared with media. “The fact that I’m not tired, mentally and physically, is going to be a huge advantage. I haven’t had the pressure during the training camps.”