Alexander Volkanovski expects to “break” Brian Ortega in title fight

UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski believes he’ll “break” Brian Ortega when they collide in the Octagon.

Volkanovski is expected to defend his title against Ortega in February.

Ortega earned the opportunity to fight for the title in his last outing, when he picked up a lopsided decision win over “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung.

From the sounds of it, the performance impressed Volkanovski.

“It took me by surprise because I didn’t expect him to fight, I wouldn’t say fight smart, but his shot selection, a couple of things that I just didn’t expect,” Volkanovski told SCMP MMA (h/t The Body Lock). “I thought he would just be looking for the finish, that’s what he does.

“… But there, he showed patience, shot selection, fakes — a lot of things that we work on. Whether he took some notes out of our book, I don’t know, but he’s obviously stepped it up and he looked good.”

While Volkanovski was impressed by Ortega’s latest win, and excited for the challenge ahead, he’s expecting a decisive victory once the cage door closes.

“It’s exciting for me but at the same time, I really do believe I’m just on a whole other level and I’m so well-rounded, I can take the fight wherever it is,” Volkanovski said. “I’m the guy that never quits. With me, it’s so easy to say I’m well-rounded but it goes so much deeper than that. There are so many little things that I just have down to a tee and I work so hard to make sure that I am such a complete fighter that if someone gives me trouble somewhere, I can always take it somewhere else. . .

“I believe I’m going to break him,” Volkanovski added. “The way that Max [Holloway] did, I believe that’s somewhere I can go with. Especially with my pressuring style. This is a fun fight for me because I get to put the pressure on. I get to be in his face which is fun and people want to see that.

“… There’s levels to this,” Volkanovski concluded. “I believe my pressure, when I use it, my pressure’s on a whole ‘nother level that not many people in the world have felt. Izzy, Israel Adesanya said himself that I’m half his size and when we’re sparring, he realizes this guy is pressuring me, getting me on the backfoot. ‘Wait a minute, this guy is half my size, I can’t let that happen.’ So he stands his ground. Before he knows it, he’s on the backfoot worrying about what I’m doing. … That’s something that you don’t understand until I’m standing in front of you.”

Who do you think will come out on top when Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega collide this February?