Alexander Volkanovski comes under fire for having Mark Zuckerberg in his corner at UFC 298: “Why would you do that?”

Kenny Florian is confused by Alexander Volkanovski had Mark Zuckerberg in his UFC 298 corner.

At UFC 298 on Saturday night, ‘The Great’ made his return to the octagon. The bout was a short turnaround for the Australian, previously being knocked out by Islam Makhachev in October. For Alexander Volkanovski, the featherweight title defense against Ilia Topuria offered a chance to bounce back.

Instead, it was another vicious knockout loss for him. It’s worth noting that Alexander Volkanovski’s coaching situation looked a little different on Saturday night. CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg was in the corner of the defending champion. The 39-year-old began training MMA in 2022 and quickly became a friend of Volkanovski.

However, Kenny Florian feels that Mark Zuckerberg was badly out of his depth at UFC 298. Speaking on a recent edition of the Anik & Florian Podcast, the retired fighter discussed Alexander Volkanovski’s loss. There, Florian questioned why the former champion needed Zuckerberg in his corner, given the seriousness of the bout.

Furthermore, the former UFC title challenger questioned if Alexander Volkanovski’s mentality played a role in the loss as well. Beyond having Mark Zuckerberg in the corner, Florian pondered if ‘The Great’ simply overlooked Ilia Topuria. In his eyes, Volkanovski looked way too calm and relaxed on fight night.

RELATED: ALEXANDER VOLKANOVSKI’S COACH CLAIMS ILIA TOPURIA ONLY “HAD A PUNCHER’S CHANCE” AT UFC 298: “ALEX HAS A MUCH BETTER SKILL SET”

Kenny Florian questions Alexander Volkanovski’s UFC 298 walkout with Mark Zuckerberg

“Volkanovski went in there with the mindset of saying, ‘Yeah, this guy is undefeated, but look what I have done, I’m gonna go out there and teach this kid a lesson,'” Kenny Florian stated on a recent edition of his podcast alongside UFC broadcaster Jon Anik. “I don’t think that has everything to do with why he lost, I don’t think that’s the sole reason. However, it certainly plays a part.” (h/t MMA News)

He continued,”When you are going to battle, you have to take it extremely serious. Be ready for war. That’s the kind of mindset you need to have for a championship fight in the UFC… For me, I just didn’t like the look, when Volkanovski came out there, he just seemed a little bit too relaxed for my liking. Even the fact of, like, having Zuckerberg there.”

“We’re kind of joking about it in the chat, but man.” Kenny Florian concluded, speaking about Alexander Volkanovski’s UFC 298 loss. “Why do you have something that could be some kind of a distraction for a world championship fight against a killer like Ilia Topuria? Why would you do that?”

What do you make of these comments from former UFC fighter Kenny Florian? Do you agree that Alexander Volkanovski’s decision to have Mark Zuckerberg in his corner was a mistake?