‘I Love Smacking Smirks Off People’s Faces’

Alexander Volkanovski is using all the doubters to fire himself up for Saturday’s big UFC 284 fight where he plans to take the lightweight belt (and smirk) off Islam Makhachev.

We’re days removed from the champion vs. champion superfight at UFC 284 between Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhachev. The closer the fight gets, the more the odds seem to be sliding towards Makhachev. And that’s firing Volkanovski up.

In a new interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Alexander “The Great” isn’t letting his underdog status get to him. He just doesn’t want and revisionist history after he beats Makhachev.

“I am smaller. I’m smaller, I’m featherweight division. I’m the one taking risks,” he said. “I am going into the division I am not usually in. He’s going to be bigger. But that’s fine. I’m the type of guy that can deal with that. Just remember that. When I say don’t change, I mean I don’t want people sitting there being like ‘Oh yeah, Islam hadn’t really fought these guys,’ because that’s not what you were saying before. Don’t take that win away from me now.”

“That win should add a lot to my legacy because I am putting a lot on the line here,” he said. “I am moving up against a big strong guy, a grappler that’s supposed to be a puzzle no one can figure out. They’re gonna say that til I figure it out. Just don’t change that narrative again. You want to have me as that underdog, that’s going to make my victory even bigger.”

“I’m that guy with that fight IQ. You know I’m not going to give up, I’m going to fight for every single centimeter. Every millimeter. So to count me out is just foolish and I can’t wait to go out there and shock the world. Because that’s what it looks like, a lot of people are like ‘Man, you know,’ cool, that just makes my victory even bigger.”

While the challenge is bigger for Volkanovski, the only thing he’s putting on the line is his pound-for-pound ranking, which he isn’t thinking about all that much.

“For him, his belt’s on the line. That belt, he doesn’t want to lose it,” Volkanovski said. “I obviously don’t want to lose that pound-for-pound spot, but I mean me losing is bigger than losing the pound-for-pound spot. Losing is four steps back for me and my family and that means more to me than the pound-for-pound spot. I love it, but at the same time, I just refuse to lose. Refuse to lose, period.”

There have been plenty of rumors going around that Islam Makhachev is already struggling with his weight — rumors with no substantial facts or backing to them. But Alex did admit he’ll feel better once his opponent is weighed in and the fight is cleared … so he can smack the smirk off Islam’s face.

“I just want him to make weight comfortably,” Volkanovski said. “Obviously we know he cuts a lot of weight and all that type of stuff. You see him smirking in all the interviews and all that. This week you won’t be seeing him smirking, you’ll see him struggling, he’ll be fragile. But we’re just hoping he makes weight.”

“That’s why I said it to him, I can see him smirking and all that type of stuff, ‘We’ll see fight week when you’re struggling and you’re cutting weight, then we’ll see in the Octagon if you’re still smirking after a few seconds, and then we’ll see who’s smirking after the fight’s done.’”

Alexander Volkanovski likes to make things a little personal leading up to his fights, and he’s honed in on Islam Makhachev’s smirk from when they met up for a UFC 284 media day.

“It’s a cockiness, I thought,” he said. “You could see I was confident, but there was definitely respect there. I know he does [respect] because he’s a pretty respectful dude but I felt like there was a cockiness. And I love smacking smirks off people’s faces, so I’m looking forward to that … It’s going to be pretty embarrassing for you, mate, if you’re gonna start talking like that. So let him do that, it just makes my win even bigger and your loss very embarrassing.”

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 284 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

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