Alexander Volkanovski doesn’t expect any surprises at UFC 325
Alexander Volkanovski is familiar with Diego Lopes’ game.
“The Great” already holds a win over Lopes, the man he faces once again Saturday in the main event of UFC 325 at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney. This past April, Volkanovski and Lopes dueled for a featherweight title left vacant by the divisional departure of Ilia Topuria, and it was Volkanovski who won a unanimous decision to begin a second reign atop the 145-pound mountain.
Following Friday’s ceremonial weigh-ins, Volkanovski was asked how much he expects to be different in their rematch and he had a clear answer: Other than it possibly not going the distance, not much.
“Obviously, footwork and that’s going to be a massive thing,” Volkanovski said. “There’s going to be a couple of changes. But yeah, I think we see the same performance. But I do really want to get a finish. I think I can hurt him. If I hurt him and get him to the ground, whatever it is. If his chin is that good, the ref’s going to have to stop it eventually, right?”
While Volkanovski hasn’t fought since UFC 314, Lopes had to earn his chance to face Volkanovski again by facing Jean Silva in September. Lopes defeated Silva by second-round knockout to keep his name in the contender mix and was eventually awarded the title shot over the likes of Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev.
Even with Lopes back on the winning track, Volkanovski doesn’t expect to see a completely different opponent in the octagon.
“Again, he obviously had some troubles with the footwork, cutting off, and things like that,” Volkanovski said. “You would think he’s going to make them adjustments, but these adjustments, you know, you’ve got to do it properly. You do it wrong, you’re just going to open up even more doors for me.
“So we’ll see. He didn’t show me anything in his last fight. It’s only been 10 months. How much can he improve? Is he capable of making changes like that? Does he need to, though? Is he most dangerous because he’s a guy that likes the firefight. He wants to be in a position where he’ll eat one to give one. To be honest, I think that’s where he’s most dangerous. So if he tries to change a whole heap, I think that just opens more doors for me, but I’m expecting the same guy. I’m prepared for a guy that made the right adjustments and I’m preparing for the same Diego, which I think is going to be more dangerous.”
At 36, Volkanovski became the oldest fighter to win the UFC featherweight title and now, at 37, looks to become the oldest to successfully defend it.
He attributes his longevity to more than just natural physical gifts.
“I’m lucky I was so resilient, durable, and I didn’t mind hard work,” Volkanovski said. “I always push myself to the limits and the boundaries and that’s just going to continue. So I can probably deal with what some people just can’t. I’ve got my mindset and my mentality to thank for that.
“Just endless years of punishing myself, I’m probably going to feel it later, but it is helping me right now.”
Category: General Sports
