UFC 284: Alex Volkanovski Sees A Different Islam Makhachev

Reigning UFC champion Alex Volkanovski can make history Saturday night at UFC 284.

Volkanovski will challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in the main event.

The current featherweight champion believes he sees an opportunity to strike against Makhachev.

“I just said, ‘you ready?’. And he’s like, ‘yeah, of course’. He has a weight cut,” Volkanovski said during a recent interview with Submission Radio. “Obviously, he looks a little skinnier than even just a few days ago. So, obviously I was always gonna 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. And I’m sure he felt the guns, you know what I mean? But yeah, no, 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 going champ-champ, don’t worry. So, just a friendly banter, wasn’t too bad. But yeah, it was good. That energy and that crowd was awesome.

“He wasn’t smirking as much as he usually does or he has been. Obviously, he looked a little drawn out. But again, yeah, I enjoyed it.”

Check out the full interview below: