Alexander Volkanowski outlines reasons for UFC 294 defeat ahead of comeback
Alexander "The Great" Volkanowski was uncomfortable heading into his last fight against Islam Makhachev, and opened up about his mental health when reflecting on the defeat
Current UFC Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanowski had admitted he felt 'vulnerable' before suffering the third loss of his career in October. Volkanowski was knocked out in the first round by Islam Makhachev in UFC 294 and puts it down to being 'underprepared' due to not feeling comfortable in life.
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Volkanowski remains one of the fiercest competitors in the UFC, and the 35-year-old is keen to bounce back in February and beat undefeated prospect Ilia Topuria on Feb. 17.
But in order to prepare for one of the toughest opponents in the UFC right now, "The Great" has reflected on why he lost in October and opened up about his mental struggles. The 26-3 fighter regrets accepting to rematch Makhachev on two weeks' notice, especially when he wasn't in the correct frame of mind.
"I took that decision [to fight] under-prepared," Volkanowski said on the "Who The Fook Are Those Guys" podcast. "Stupid decision because there was a time I was a little uneasy, a little uncomfortable, I wasn’t in the gym, [I was] drinking a little bit, had a newborn, trying to be the best dad I could be, but unable to tick the boxes in the gym that I usually am, coming from an injury. So I wasn’t doing [great]."
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"Usually I deal with things a lot better. It was just a time when the pressure was just a little bit much for me, a little uncomfortable. Everyone gets that, so I want people to understand that: I’m all good, but I’m glad people got to see that side of me because everyone is vulnerable at some point in their life. Everyone is uncomfortable."
It's unlike Volkanowski who has always been seen as a fighter with no weaknesses, but even the experienced 35-year-old proved he is human. Volkanowski thought taking on the fight would snap him out of his emotional state, but misjudged the situation.
"I’m usually in a lot more control when it comes to resilience I’m very resilient when I deal with things," he added. "But then again there are limits to everything, especially with everything that’s going on. And then that decision came of taking that fight.
"I was like ‘This will snap me out of it, the drinking and all that, get me back in the gym properly.’ So I wasn’t really training. But I used that as ‘It’s meant to be.’ I’ll be honest, there’ll probably be footage of this: straight after [the fight], I went into the back room and I was like ‘What was I thinking?’ I made this stupid decision cuz of where my head was at, and I just broke down.
"I was in the room broken down and literally went out and did the press conference. So that’s where my head was at. Telling myself I made this stupid decision. When I thought about it, it wasn’t the decision, I stand by my decision to take the fight. I’m more disappointed in the timing.
"Usually I’m way more prepared, I’m in the gym a lot more, you would have seen a guy that was in a better position physically, mentally, going into that fight. I’m always been very professional, very disciplined, and I just wasn’t for the past few months."
Despite showing his emotional side, Volkanowski has no regrets as he highlighted the importance of speaking out. The fighter has turned a negative into a positive and hopes more fighters will be more open in the future.
"You’ve seen me at my most vulnerable. And again, I’m okay, I had mixed emotions about people seeing me like that straight after. But then the more I thought about it, I was like, ‘This is a positive.’ A lot of people reaching out. This is something that should be talked about because there are a lot of people who probably aren’t in my position.
"There’s a lot of people that don’t know what makes them tick, they don’t know their purpose, they’re trying to figure all that out. I’m glad I could talk about it, that even the strongest men, the most resilient of men can still get vulnerable. It’s not weak to speak."
