Jetting down from his homeland, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev arrived in Sydney on Sunday during the UFC 283 broadcast to square off with UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski.
To hype up the main event for UFC 284, the UFC has done a promotional shoot between the two champions in front of a mural of Volkanovski for an intense stare-down off an alleyway in George Street, Sydney.
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While the showdown proved the Russian fighter is bigger than the Aussie, Volkanovski has stated that size does not concern him, and he is more than ready to take on the challenge.
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Since Khabib Nurmagomedov’s recent departure from the MMA scene, Makhachev said in a recent interview with Fox Sports that Khabib won’t be in his corner this time around, and that won’t be a problem going into this bout.
“When the cage door close, no one is there for you,” Makhachev said.
“Of course, it’s going to be different, but I’ve already fought without him a couple of times. And he cannot always be with me.
“Of course, it’s very good when he is here.”
“I always like when he is with me because he knows all the games being played. He knows what you need for the fight, for the weight cut, you don’t have to worry about any of this. It’s always good when you have someone as experienced as him. You don’t have to spend your energy thinking about other things. But I understand that he has to spend more time with his family.”
However, Volkanovski has stressed that when I get the job done, they better not use his absence as an excuse.
“They better not use it as an excuse once this is all done,” Volkanovski said.
“At the end of the day, Makhachev will prepare, and we’re going to fight. He doesn’t need someone to hold his hand.”
“Doesn’t need someone to be in there with him.”
“That’s not a real fighter.”
“So, when my hand gets raised, that better not come up.”
Both parties have spent incredible amounts of resources in their respective training camps. With UFC 284 just only 3 weeks away we are going to see who is the most prepared to come out on top and have their legacy be remembered in the history books.
