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Alexander Volkanovski's aspirations of becoming a two-division champion suffered a major blow in his second defeat to Islam Makhachev last year. One of the Australian's coaches recently discussed why the reigning featherweight champion accepted the fight under less-than-ideal conditions.
Volkanovski took on Makhachev for the latter's lightweight title at UFC 294 in October and suffered the first TKO defeat of his UFC career, succumbing to a head kick in the first round.
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In a recent interview with Medium, City Kickboxing head trainer and founder Eugene Bareman expressed his thoughts on Volkanovski's choice to take the rematch against Makhachev on short notice. He revealed that the featherweight champion's decision may have been swayed by the offer of a new, lucrative contract.
Bareman said:
“I'm not sure if this was widely publicized but Alex did sign a new contract with that last fight. So it wasn't about just getting one big payday. It was about all his future fights happening with significantly, significantly better compensation. So, from this point of view, his decision was understandable.”
Catch Eugene Bareman's comments below:
Sean O’Malley doesn't want to face Alexander Volkanovski
Alexander Volkanovski is set to defend his featherweight title against surging contender Ilia Topuria in the main event of UFC 298 later this month.
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, the current bantamweight champion, Sean O'Malley, discussed potentially facing the winner of Volkanovski vs. Topuria. 'Sugar' stated that while he would be keen on fighting Topuria, he isn't interested in taking on the reigning champion:
''If Ilia goes out there and gets the job done, the we will see. That's a fight I'd like at 145.''
When asked about a potential fight against Volkanovski, O'Malley replied:
''Volk, I don't know, not interested in fight with Volk. Just don't like that fight.''
Catch Sean O'Malley's comments below (44.38):
O'Malley has made no secret of his desire to move up to featherweight if Topuria beats Volkanovski at UFC 298 later this month. At UFC 299, 'Sugar' is set to run it back with Marlon Vera in his first title defense just three weeks after the 145-pound title fight.
