After losing to Makhachev, Volkanovski admitted his mental problems in an emotional statement: that’s why I took the fight. It was about more than money

Alexander Volkanovski is one of the greatest champions in the UFC. Not only because of his skills, but also because of his character and strong personality, which he proved after his loss to Islam Makhachev.

UFC 294 offered an excellent spectacle. In particular, the main card was almost full of first round stoppages. In the main event, champions Islam Makhachev and Alexander Volkanovski clashed in a rematch, with the former originally set to be challenged by Charles Oliveira.

Volkanovski took the fight eleven days before it was due to take place, proving his tremendous character, great courage and the nature of a champion. But it is obvious from his words after the fight that he had his reasons for doing so, and let’s not look for money among them.

But back to the duel. It ended in the first round when Makhachev hit his opponent with a head kick and he couldn’t recover. He landed a few more hard punches on the ground and it was over. This happened with less than two minutes left in the first round.

After the fight, the Dagestani expressed his respect for the Australian. He acknowledged that he was a true champion with all the right stuff. A beautiful sporting moment. However, Volkanovski is clearly not well, because he is suffering from mental problems.

Volkanovski is also doing battle outside the cage

Back in 2022, Alexander Volkanovski admitted to psychological problems, specifically fear of the opinions of others. Now, after his loss to Makhachev, he revealed that he still fights outside the cage as well.

“It’s hard, I don’t like to lose. It hurts me, but Islam is a great champion,” the Australian UFC featherweight king made himself heard while still in the cage. Even at that moment, he was begging the organization to keep him as busy as possible.

At the press conference, he elaborated on why he wanted it: “A lot of people will say that I took the fight for the money, but it was much more than that. I don’t feel good when I’m not fighting, it made my head go around. I needed to take the fight to keep my head busy as well.”

“For some reason, when I wasn’t fighting or preparing for a fight… I never thought I would fight something like this. I have a beautiful family, but I don’t know. I justhave to keep my head busy,” he added.

He also admitted that taking the fight with Makhachev at the last minute was a bad decision under the circumstances. Likewise, he revealed that he didn’t train as much as he should have, but he accepts the consequences of his decision for what they are.

Due to the knockout he should get a medical stoppage for three months, however he would like to see himself in the cage in January. He wants to return to his weight class, where Ilia Topuria should challenge him next.

The main thing, however, is for Volkanovski to get himself together mentally. Because if he can’t overcome his problems other than by fighting, fans are worried about what he would do after his career.

Source: UFC