MMA is one of the most unpredictable sports in the world. Often, fighters fall from the top of their game to the bottom instantly. The same happened with former UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski after his fight with Islam Makhachev. His downfall was highly shocking, and Joe Rogan detailed the reason for such a downfall.
Joe Rogan recently invited Alexander Volkanovski’s coach and popular BJJ instructor, Craig Jones, to his podcast. Jones has an eccentric personality, and his appearance on JRE led to honest conversations about Volkanovski. During the conversation, Rogan revealed that Volkanovski’s rematch against Makhachev might be the main reason for the downfall.
It wouldn’t have fallen apart if not for the rematch…That head kick has a factor. To get brained like that with a shin to the bone…you get head kicked like that and then you fight the guy, who’s obviously the most dangerous boxer in the division.
Joe Rogan via The Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show #157
Volkanovski wanted to get that double champion status. After a controversial first bout against Makhachev, many thought Volk could prevail in a rematch. However, the Aussie took an ill-advised short-notice fight against the Dagestani. It resulted in a devastating knockout loss. This was followed by him losing his title to Ilia Topuria via KO at UFC 298.
Three losses in one year definitely affected the fighter, and since then, ‘The Great’ has taken a sabbatical. It appears the short-notice fight against Makhachev resulted in the worst-case scenarios for the Australian fighter. Soon, Volk opened up about his mental health status after the loss. However, it didn’t stop Volkanovski from making hilarious spoof videos to entertain fans.
Alexander Volkanovski breaks down at a press conference and talks about mental health
Alexander Volkanovski’s title reign was one of the most dominant in recent times. The Australian defended his title five times and destroyed most of his opponents. However, it wasn’t enough for the fighter, who wanted the champ-champ status. More than that, Volkanovski was struggling with mental health issues. As a result, he couldn’t reject the Islam Makhachev rematch when the UFC asked.
Alexander Volkanovski cries after losing to Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 (via Imago/YouTube)
While talking about his loss during the post-fight press conference at UFC 294, Volkanovski couldn’t control his tears. The fighter talked about taking the fight, knowing he wasn’t prepared for it.
It is hard. It really is hard for athletes. I never thought I’d struggle with it but for some reason when I wasn’t fighting or in camp. F…, sorry. So when this opportunity came up, I’ll be honest I wasn’t training as much as I should’ve but I thought I had to do it ….I was telling myself it was meant to be.
Alexander Volkanovski via UFC 294 post-fight press conference
To remain at the top of the UFC is not an easy task at all. Recently, fans have seen various fighters with dominating reigns fall. This includes big names such as Israel Adesanya, Tony Ferguson, Kamaru Usman, etc. It remains to be seen if any of these fighters can make a comeback.
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