Islam Makhachev pins blame on Alex Volkanovski’s team for knockout loss to Ilia Topuria

Islam Makhachev is pinning the blame on Alex Volkanovski’s team for the Aussie’s knockout loss to Ilia Topuria.

It was last October at UFC 294 that saw Alexander Volkanovski (26-4 MMA) get knocked out by lightweight champion Islam Makhachev (25-1 MMA).

Following that loss, ‘The Great’ was booked by the UFC to defend his featherweight title against the unbeaten Ilia Topuria (15-0 MMA) this past February at UFC 298. The result was another KO loss for Volkanovski at 3:32 of Round 2.

According to Islam Makhachev, it was Volkanovski’s team who erred in allowing the 35-year-old to compete against ‘El Matador’ less than 4 months since his bout with the Dagestan.

Makhachev, speaking to ‘MMA Junkie‘ shared the following insight:

“Of course (he returned too soon). Alex is a good fighter, he is a warrior, everybody knows. He can fight everyday. But I always said that his team is very bad because this mistake is not Alex’s mistake. It’s a mistake the team made because the team has to sit with him and tell him, ‘Hey, it’s too soon.’

Concluding, Islam Makhachev said:

“He had a very bad, tough knockout in his last fight. He has to rest for a minimum of three or four months without training, nothing. You have to do some recovery and just wait. He go to fight again too soon. It was a big mistake. He is a warrior, he can come back, but still, he needs some time. He has to listen to his body and give some time for recovery.”

Do you believe, like Islam Makhachev does, that it was Volkanovski’s team who should be held accountable for his loss at UFC 298?

Who would you like to see the Australian fight next?

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