Alexander Volkanovksi claims Islam Makhachev was “feeling a little frail” during their UFC 284 faceoff

Alexander Volkanovski is claiming Islam Makhachev was ‘feeling a little frail’ during their UFC 284 press conference face-off.

UFC 284 takes place tomorrow, Saturday February 11th at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia.

Headlining the event will be Alexander Volkanovski (25-1 MMA) vs Islam Makhachev (23-1 MMA) for the lightweight championship belt.

Speaking with ‘Submission Radio’, Volkanovski reflected on their pre-fight press conference, commenting he thought Makhachev looked a little frail (h/t MMAJunkie):

“I’ve been feeling more cockiness out of him from some interviews and all that type of stuff. I knew that was going to change. Right now, he’s struggling with weight cuts. He’s feeling a little frail. So I was expecting that was going to happen. Obviously, I expect smirks to change when we’re in there, as well, when I’m facing off with him when we’re actually fighting.”

“He’s going to be filled up (in weight). He’s going to be happy he’s filled up when we’re fighting. But as soon as I start moving and being that puzzle and him realizing that I’m stronger than he originally thought, that smirk starts to change and that puzzled look on their face – and I always notice it.”

Continuing, ‘The Great’ spoke about the words they shared:

“I just said, ‘You ready?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah, of course. He has a weight cut. Obviously, he looks a little skinnier than even just a few days ago. So obviously I was always going to touch on that, just let him keep remembering that he needs to do that killer weight cut tonight. But yeah, he was like, ‘How are you? All good?’ I’m like, ‘Don’t worry, I’m strong.’ And that’s when he went for the grab.”

Concluding, Alexander Volkanovski referred to it as a ‘playful’ exchange:

“And I’m sure he felt the guns, you know what I mean? But it was all just playful. And then we had the belt, and he’s gone. ‘This is the real belt.’ Like, ‘That’s a fake belt.’ As if, ‘You ain’t the champ – this is the champ.’ I’ve gone, ‘Don’t matter mate. I’m the featherweight champ, and we’re going champ-champ – don’t worry.’ So just a friendly banter – wasn’t too bad. It was good – that energy and that crowd was awesome.”

Will you be watching tomorrow night? Do you think Alexander Volkanovski can defeat Islam Makhachev and capture the lightweight belt?

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