Israel Adesanya is backing his teammate Alexander Volkanovski all the way, even as he faces arguably his toughest career test for the second time.
Volkanovski, champion at 145 pounds, is moving up a weight class to fight UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev again on just 11 days notice in the main event of UFC 294 on Oct. 21. This came about after Makhachev’s original opponent Charles Oliveira was forced to withdraw from the matchup due to injury.
On top of moving up a weight class and fighting a champion on short notice, Volkanovski will also be traveling to Abu Dhabi, which has historically been a supportive region for Makhachev.
Yet, Adesanya is confident that not only will Volkanovski get his hand raised, but also stop Makhachev.
“I felt Volk beat him in the first time, I thought so, the first time,” Adesanya told The Rock. “As the fight progressed, you can see Volkanovski grow more confident and be like, ‘This is the way he’s supposed to beat me, right? Come on.’ This time, short notice, Volk has nothing to lose. He’s been in the gym. He’s ready.
“I feel like he’s going to stop him on this one. But again, this is me, I’m biased. If I could bet, which I’m not allowed to, if I could, I know who I’m putting my money on.”
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Volkanovski underwent arm surgery in mid-July and at the time was given six weeks of rehab. This was of course after Volkanovski’s TKO win over Yair Rodriguez at UFC 290 in Las Vegas. It was his first fight since losing a close, unanimous decision to Makhachev in February at UFC 284.
On the other hand, Makhachev has yet to fight since defeating Volkanovski in their first meeting in Australia at UFC 284. He won the title in October 2022 by submitting Charles Oliveira, and has yet to defend against an established title contender in the weight class.
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